Red Dawn and Nightfall
by TheWallflower14
Summary: Alejandra Mae Todd. But she knows herself as just Alejandra Ramirez, neglected orphan and street rat with a crime record. Alex, as her best friend Eddie Santos calls her, is used to living the hard life on the streets of Gotham, but all of that can change, if she dares to look under the red hood.
1. Chapter 1

I wasn't sure how much more if this 'sitting still' I could take.

Eddie and two other boys I didn't know were huddled behind a dumpster, waiting. Only Eddie seemed as fidgety as I felt, the other two looked overly confident.

I suppressed a sigh as I realized what he was doing.

Eddie Santos was my best friend, and he was always trying to help kids to live life on the streets (which is what he was doing right now). But most kids just didn't have what it took to survive, and that's what usually got them put back in an orphanage.

Either that, or they got killed.

But that didn't stop Eddie. If anything, it motivated him even more. He kept helping whoever came to him for advice, despite my grumbles of complaints, and kept teaching them "our ways", more specifically _my_ ways, since I've been at this stuff since I was nine.

Eddie and I met three years ago, when I was eleven and he was thirteen. He'd been my first real friend, _and_ my first crush, but there was no way I'd ever tell him _that_. Even though that crush was long gone, he'd never let me hear the end of it.

Eddie caught me staring down at him from my spot on the fire escape and gave a little smirk. I rolled my eyes at him.

He winked and gave a small tilt of his head, and I looked to the exit of the alleyway, where two thugs burst out from the double doors of Gotham's bank.

That was my cue.

I jumped off the railing and landed with a soft thud on the alley floor. I shoved my hands into the pocket of my hoodie and began a quick stride towards the two thieves, who were pretty much about to run right into the little trap.

They glanced back at the cop who burst out from the bank and pursued them like a bird about to snatch its prey.

I abruptly froze in my spot. Well _hell_. Pulling the red hoodie lower over my face, I bit my lip and prayed to the lucky stars I didn't have that he wouldn't recognize me, or Eddie.

The thugs turned back around and sprinted faster, scowling in irritation when they saw me. "Move out of the way, brat!"

Still petrified, I cast one quick glance at the cop; there was no way I could blow my cover. Forcing my stiff muscles to relax, I let them shove me onto the ground as they stumbled their way into the alley.

I slowly got to my feet, brushing dirt off the knees of my jeans. I hardly breathed as I listened with an ear directed toward the alleyway, and heard a thud and a grunt, immediately followed by some shouting. I knew it wasn't Eddie; Eddie was smart enough to know when to bolt.

I remember during our first few weeks as a duo, it had taken Eddie a good while to be able to ditch me. He never wanted me to take the full blame of something we'd both done, but I'd pretty much bullied him into ditching me no matter what the situation, so that in case it was anything serious, he'd be able to get help.

Fortunately, this wasn't anything serious at all. What had me freaking out was the guilt I knew I would carry for the rest of the night, which I'll explain later.

The cop jogged up to me with a concerned look on his face. "Are you all right?"

I waved my hand dismissively and turned my head away, "Mhm!" I turned to walk away, but he put a hand on my shoulder and held me back. "Wait here, I'll be right back." He turned and ran into the alleyway, and I silently cursed myself. If it were any other cop, I would've disobeyed the order and ran down the block. But since it was _him_, I stayed rooted in place.

I had no idea what the hell happened in the time span of thirty seconds that the cop was in that alley, but he came out with the two sacks of stolen greens, the two unconscious thugs, and the two dumbstruck newbie street rats. I was right: Eddie had made a run for it, but it looked like the new guys hadn't listened to him.

And I'd made the mistake of listening to the cop. But hey, I knew him, and Eddie knew him. And we _both_ knew following his orders was always the best way to go.

"Wow, you got them!" I disguised my voice and pointed at him, "Good to have someone like you working in the GCPD, sir." I turned around and restrained myself from sprinting away; this was a cop I knew I could not outrun. I speak from experience.

"Hold on there, Alex. Don't you need a ride back to St. Anne's? Or did they already kick you out?"

Trying not to cringe, I slowly turned around to face Dick, who looked at me with a raised eyebrow and an amused grin on his face.

He knew me too well. But I guess that happens when you're friends with someone for six years. And Richard Grayson was definitely that someone.

Grumbling some very unladylike things under my breath, I threw my hoodie back and shoved my hands into my pockets, walking slowly back to him in defeat.

"These friends of yours?" He shook Things 1 and 2 by the collars of their shirts.

I raised a brow, "Since when am I a social butterfly?" I knew he only took my retort as a confirmation.

Dick chuckled anyway, "Can't argue with that logic." He glanced behind him before looking back to me curiously, "Eddie isn't here?"

I couldn't hold back my grin, "You just missed him."

Dick and Eddie were best friends, too, and that was because they met through me. The three of us were close, even though Dick was an adult and a _cop_, possibly a street kid's worse enemy. But Dick was the greatest guy we knew, which was why Eddie and I respected him and always followed his orders. Well, _almost_ always.

"That's too bad. I still owe him that lesson on how to charm a woman."

One of the many reasons why I was even friends with Dick was because of his light humor. He was probably the only cop in all of Gotham City that hasn't lost his upbeat attitude. Others, well, they can't handle the things they see. But Dick can. And, more impressively, he knew how to deal with _me_.

"Hey, do you mind lending me a hand with these?" He tossed the two bags full of money to me, and I easily caught them. "I've kinda got my hands full here."

I would never be able to get over the fact that Dick actually trusted me, had complete faith in me. It was another reason why I liked him, but it also bothered me. I knew it was a way of getting me to trust him, to make me a goody two shoes, or something like that. The thing is, it actually _worked_. I was a street rat with a conscience, which annoyed the hell out of me sometimes. It made it so much harder to steal, to do wrong. I wasn't a bad person - never was, thanks to Dick - but when you lived on the streets, you either steal or starve. That was the motto.

But thanks to Dick's useful pointers, I learned to never take more than what I needed. Not only did this reduce my guilt by a fraction, it also made it easier to not get caught, to slip away unnoticed.

Which was why I didn't make a run for it while Dick had his back to me. That, and because I knew he would catch me in less than half a second. The guy was probably at the peak of his game. He could be a famous athlete in the Olympics, or in the military, or something else other than a simple cop in Gotham City. Not that I would want him to leave, because I really didn't, but I couldn't help but wonder why a guy like Dick would ever stay on this hellhole of an Island. All Gotham ever had to offer was misery and more misery. Anyone could tell you that.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as Dick slammed the door of the patrol car shut, locking the four goons in the backseat. He turned to smile at me, and I immediately handed him the bags, not trusting myself a moment longer. "Thanks, Alex."

"No problem." Grimacing, I shoved my hands into my pockets and swallowed the regret of not having had snagged a couple bills.

Stupid conscience takes the fun out of everything.

Dick disappeared back inside the bank, and I imagined everyone there clapping and cheering and swooning over the fabulous Officer Grayson. They were probably even gonna throw him a party or something.

I turned back to Things One and Two and watched them shift uneasily under my glare. As easily as I could get them out, I just stood there and continued to stare at them. They deserved getting caught, anyway. No street rat should ever be so confident on the risky task of stealing, _especially_ not on the first try. Besides, it was every man for himself out here. Or girl. Whatever.

Two drops splattered on my face and I looked up at the sky, which was darker and cloudier than usual. Great. Rain. That meant I was going to have to find someplace else to crash. But honestly, any place on the street was better than an Orphanage, even if they did provide warm meals and a bed. I hated being told what to do all the time everyday, every hour, by everyone. It was hell, trust me.

In a matter of minutes my hair was plastered to the sides of my face. I saw the newbies snicker, and I narrowed my eyes into slits menacingly as I pulled my hood over my head.

At that moment, Dick rushed out the double doors and jogged over to where I stood waiting to get inside the car.

"Where's the giant trophy?"

"I didn't think you'd still be waiting here."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

Dick smiled and unlocked the doors, "Get in." I hopped into the passenger's seat and slammed the door, shivering from the cold. Dick got into the driver's seat and revved the engine.

I pretended to look around the car, "What, no handcuffs?" I waved my hands in the air.

"You didn't do anything illegal. Not tonight." He added wryly, answering my question as he flipped on the headlights.

"Not tonight." I confirmed, unable to stop the huge grin from stretching across my face.

The rest of the drive was peacefully silent, and I was grateful for that. I was already feeling guilty for what I did - or at least had tried to do - and I liked wallowing.

Dick was the only authority figure in the entire city that had that effect on me; I really hated seeing that disappointed look in his eyes whenever I did something wrong. But that was just because, in a weird way, Dick kind of felt like my older brother, or my guardian.

I remembered at some point in my childhood - when I was already on the streets - I'd accidentally called him "Dad" instead of "Dick". I'd been so embarrassed at the slip-up, but he pretended to not have noticed and bought me a chocolate ice cream cone before taking me back to St. Elizabeth's Orphanage, which was where I'd been put in at the time.

And, although I'd _never_ admit it to him, I sometimes, _sometimes, _wished Dick actually _was_ my actual dad. I never knew my biological father, didn't even know his name, but I liked to imagine he would've been kind of like Dick.

Except he'd totally ditched me and my mom...so fat chance.

We pulled up in front of the police station, and I cast a quick glance at Dick.

"Would you prefer to wait in here?" He asked, his tone mockingly polite.

I mimicked his tone, "Would you mind leaving the keys in?"

He laughed at my poor imitation of him, "I won't take long." Dick pulled all four guys out from the back and led them toward the entrance. The locks on all four doors clicked, and my grin widened.

I waited until the coast was clear, and then pulled the copy of Dick's key out of my pocket.

Being friends with a cop definitely had its perks.

Dick didn't know about the duplicate key, though. A few weeks ago, when I'd been taken into the police station for a good lecturing on morals, I'd fished it out of his coat pocket and taken the liberty to make a copy of it.

I jammed the key into the little slot and twisted it, revving the engine. I slammed my fist on the little button, and the doors unlocked.

Pulling the key out, I jumped out the car and slammed the door shut behind me. I took off into a full on sprint, feeling the fresh rain and wind hit my face.

Ah, freedom!

After running down three blocks, I decided it was safe enough to stop and take a breather.

Pulling some loose change from my jean pockets, I walked toward an open Liquor store and actually bought something instead of just slipping it in my sleeve.

I was feeling kind of guilty for disappointing Dick for the umpteenth time. I wanted to do a good deed, just to cross out the bad. It was something I've always done. This little habit even rubbed off on Eddie. It was usually because Dick - whether he was aware of it or not - had the strong effect of making us feel guilty for letting him down. We knew he saw us as "good kids", and that just fed our guilty consciences even more.

But stealing was just _so much easier. _Especially when the corner mirrors were stained with bubblegum, soda spray, and spitballs from yours truly.

Trying not to pout, I paid the nice cashier for the vegetable flavored drink– yes, I needed the nutrition, it's not like broccoli just falls out of the sky – and walked out.

I was just about to take a sip of the weird looking stuff when it was suddenly snatched out of my hands.

Feeling my whole body tense up for a fight, I whipped around in an attempt to jam my elbow against the crook's profile, but he ducked under it in the nick of time.

"Cool it! It's me!" Eddie stepped beneath the flickering street light, a greatly amused look on his face.

"I paid for that, you know." I reached out to snatch the bottle from his hand, but he held it up and away from my reach.

How the hell was he so tall? We hardly ate any _real_ food!

He looked at me in surprise, "You paid for this?" His expression immediately turned understanding, "Ah, so _that's_ who the cop was! It was too dark for me to recognize him." Eddie quickly grinned, "So what did Dick say? I'm still waiting for my next lesson on how to charm a lady."

I laughed, feeling my mood lighten. "Yeah, he mentioned that." I raised a brow at him, "Who is it you're trying to charm, anyway?" I rarely saw Eddie talk to girls. Unless she worked the cash register, that was usually when Eddie put his naturally good looks and Spanish to use.

"Don't worry, Alex, you know you'll always have a special place in _mi corazón_." He put a hand over his heart and smirked while he gave me his famous smoldering dark eyes.

Famous smoldering eyes that were totally useless on me by now. But boy did it work miracles on anyone else.

Eddie had the superpower of making girls drool, _literally_ drool! We first discovered it when he was chatting it up with the teenage girl who was watching over the Laundromat, which her aunt owned. Eddie had been totally oblivious to her expression, but I saw it and pulled him aside to let him see the obvious. The girl actually got jealous when she saw me talking to Eddie, but he smoothed it out with her in a nanosecond, and that was how we got the little clothes we owned washed for free. Up to this day, I'm pretty sure the girl hates me. But that just makes our trips to the Laundromat _that_ much more fun.

When Dick realized how we got so many discounts and free stuff, he couldn't stop laughing. Afterwards, he told Eddie he'd teach him how to "put those dreamy brown eyes to good use".

I grinned triumphantly, "Nice try, _hermano_, but your mojo doesn't work on me."

Eddie sighed in mock disappointment, "I guess it only works on the pretty girls."

He dodged away from my fist and burst into laughter. The joyous sound echoed all around the empty parking lot, and I couldn't help but join in.

I lightly punched his arm, "Fine, don't tell me. But a piece of advice?" I reached up and tugged on his soft shaggy hair, "You need a haircut."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "That's just an excuse for you to aim a pair of scissors at my head, isn't it?"

I smiled widely at him.

Eddie tossed me back my drink, "Here you go, chica."

I laughed as I caught it, and we both started walking.

"Eddie?"

"Hmm?"

"Sorry I couldn't catch the thugs. That money could've totally gotten you a nice haircut."

He smiled and gently nudged me, "Hey, don't worry about it. We were only going to snatch one roll of bills and split it between the four of us, so it probably wouldn't have lasted us for too long. Besides, it set a good example for the two new kids. They got caught for not listening to me, and now they're probably back in St. Michael's orphanage." Eddie shrugged, "At least I tried to help them live the life."

Just to clear things up, Eddie and I didn't always steal from the good guys, we steal from stealers, too. Kind of like vigilante work, which was why we'd gone after the two thugs from the bank earlier tonight.

But that's what Batman was for, right?

"Besides," Eddie added, pulling me out of my thoughts, "I like the haircuts you give me."

I barked out a laugh, "Yeah right! Remember the first haircut I ever gave you? That was so bad it wasn't even funny."

"Oh man," Eddie pretended to groan, "Don't even remind me! Dick had to take me to an actual barbershop to fix it. He even paid!"

We both bumped into each other as we were crippled by laughter. The memory of a smaller Eddie with hair sticking out from all sides was too much to handle, and we had to sit down on the sidewalk for a quick break.

Eddie leaned his shoulder against mine, and I did the same. We both sat there for a while, enjoying the moment of blissful silence before getting back up and searching for a place to crash.


	2. Chapter 2

The last two weeks had passed surprisingly uneventful. Eddie didn't steal, and I didn't steal. Not from the good folks, and not from the assholes.

The results: an easy conscience…and a stomach that had shrunk down to the size of a walnut. Scratch that – a raisin is a way more accurate metaphor.

Which explained why that night I was drooling a puddle beside my head.

I was having a pretty great dream. It was all gooey, chocolate chip cookies and fluffy plain waffles and those Eggo waffles that have chocolate chips in it.

I've always loved waffles.

Waffles are awesome.

But then a hand clamped firmly over my mouth, and I jolted awake, sucking in air and preparing to scream because I'd just lost the best dream ever and someone was going to have to pay for that.

"Quiet!" Eddie hissed, struggling to stop me from thrashing around.

_Quiet?_ He totally crashed my dream! I slapped his hand away and prepared to voice my witty retort, when I saw why he'd woken me up so suddenly.

There was the sound of wood planks being yanked off and tossed away. Flashlights waved around, spilling their blinding light through the cracks.

I looked back at Eddie, his intense dark eyes glinting behind his shaggy night hair.

That was a look that said: Your snoring woke up all of Gotham City.

And I gave him a look that said: I _told_ you we shouldn't have stayed in the first abandoned building we found. But did you listen to me? No.

He rolled his eyes at me and silently helped me to my feet. We both crept along the shadows, but the sound of wood finally breaking froze us on the spot, and the searchlights shone right on us.

Eddie swore under his breath.

"Hey!" I could immediately tell by the strict tone that it was a cop. "What are you two doing here?"

"That's the Santos kid!"

Eddie wasted no time jumping into action. His fingers curled in a death grip around my wrist and he started dragging me further into the building.

They were after Eddie. _Again_.

Dread crept up on me as I remembered the last time he'd gotten the cops' attention like this.

But now was not the time for sweet reminiscing. We had a wall to crash through.

Releasing myself from Eddie's grip, I twisted my torso so that my right shoulder would break through the wasting wood and take most of the impact.

We broke through easily – adrenaline does amazing things – and stumbled into an alleyway, where we jumped over hobos' legs and smelly sleeping bags and earned some curses and cheers.

We took a few more turns before ultimately coming to a dead end.

I fell back against the wall and tilted my head back, gulping for air; my blood pressure was _way_ too low, and I was starting to feel dizzy.

Eddie scanned the length of the alley and turned back to me, wiping the sweat off his brow. "We lost them."

I smiled widely, trying not to show how weak I felt. "Was there ever any doubt?" We'd outrun almost every cop that's ever tried to tail us, the only exception being Dick.

Hmm, had _he_ been a part of that squad?

Before I could be swallowed by my own guilt, I suddenly remembered why the GCPD had sent us running like chickens in the first place.

I straightened up and walked over to Eddie, glaring up at him. "Why were they looking for _you_?"

He ran a hand through his hair, looking tired. "Nothing. It was just something stupid."

"The hell it _was_ stupid! The last time the cops went after you like that was when – are you selling drugs again?"

Eddie blinked in slight surprise, "What?" He scowled. "No!" He pointed at me angrily, "You know I don't do gangs anymore, Alejandra! Not after what those assholes did to you." He shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced to the side sullenly. "I learned my lesson."

My hand reflexively shot up to grip my left bicep. I would have lost the arm if the surgeons hadn't gotten the two bullets out in time.

I forced my hand back down to my side and ground my teeth together, "Then what. Have. You. Done."

"It was all a misunderstanding, okay? Just forget this ever happened."

My blood boiled. _Did he not get how worried this made me?_ I was so frustrated and hungry and tired and angry that the next thing I knew, I was shoving him back, using both of my hands this time. "I mean it, Eddie! You better tell me the truth or so help me I will – "

He stumbled backwards, but instead of falling onto the ground, he leaned back on the hood of a car that had been parked in the very dark part of the gap between the two buildings.

Eddie quickly straightened up, and he looked at the sleek black hood in awe. My anger vanished in an instant, and I was just as dumbstruck as he was.

"What kind of car…" Eddie frowned thoughtfully as we both tried to make out its shape in the dark.

Eddie dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a lighter; it was the one I'd gotten him a few years ago, just as a friendship token. The only decoration on the front was an Ace.

And yes, I'd _bought_ it.

Okay, well, I'd kinda stolen a guy's wallet.

But still. I was surprised he'd kept it all these years instead of just selling it to some random pot smoker.

Eddie flicked it on and held the lighter close to the car, but it did little to help us see the whole thing.

But we recognized enough.

"No way." Eddie said, his eyes lighting up in excitement and shock.

I gawked. "The fudging _Batmobile_."

"_Batman's_ Batmoblie."

"_The_ Batman."

We both grinned at each other like a pair of idiots.

He lightly elbowed me. "Those are some pretty sweet tires."

I raised a brow at him, catching the implication. Turning back to the sweet ride, I made my tone as nonchalant as possible. "Yeah. They are."

Eddie chuckled, and he went over to kneel down, patting the firm rubber. He let out a low whistle. "These are the _good_ brand." He looked at me somewhat pleadingly, "Alejandra, do you have _any_ idea how much cash we can get from these?"

I put my hands on my hips, refusing to succumb to his nearly irresistible puppy dog eyes. "Do _you_ have a_ny_ idea what can and _will_ happen to us when _Batman_ finds out we took his tires?"

A wicked grin stretched across his handsome face. "Who says he's gonna find out?"

"Intuition. C'mon, Eddie, he's _Batman_ for crying out loud! The guy is the world's greatest detective!" I threw an arm out to gesture to the Batmobile, "The tires probably have tracking devices, or maybe the car has a camera running and is recording everything we're saying! He'll probably guess your name out of the top of his head just by seeing his tires have been stolen!" I instinctively took a few steps back, growing more paranoid the longer I stared at the car. This was _so_ not a good idea.

"You watch way too many spy movies, chica. And we don't even own a television."

I rolled my eyes at him. "It's called the newspaper, Eddie. He's always on the front page."

Eddie stood up and began walking around in the dark, kicking junk around as he searched for something.

He let out a victorious laugh when he reappeared with a lug wrench.

What the hell? "Who leaves that thing lying around?" I demanded to no one in particular.

Eddie looked at me, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "So, should we do it?"

My stomach let out a very loud and very embarrassing growl.

"I'll take that as a yes."

I internally cursed my belly. "Eddie, he could be close by. What if you get caught red handed?"

He was already working away at undoing the nut bolt. "Relax, Alex. It's not like we haven't done this before. Besides, _you _were the one who taught me how to do this, remember?" He flashed me another dazzling smile.

Even though he was older than me by two years, I was the one who had taught Eddie the street smarts, since I've been an orphan on the streets longer than he has.

And my nerves were screaming at me that this was _not_ a smart idea _at all_. Stealing a random car's tires was perfectly fine.

But this was an _entirely different_ situation.

I've never personally met Batman, but based on the stories I've heard…I'd like to keep it that way.

Eddie set the first tire down, and I rushed over to him, snatching the lug wrench from his hand. "Dude, one tire is enough. All I need are waffles and a double cheeseburger with French fries."

"You'll need a drink, too." He smirked as he held his hand out to me, "Hand it over, Alex."

I pretended to do the math on my fingers. "Actually, we'll have more than enough for another two double cheeseburgers _and_ a whopper. And there'll be enough to get you something, too, so…" I tossed the wrench aside, but it did not hit the ground.

"Sorry to disappoint you two, but the Batmobile needs all _four_ tires."

Well _hell_.

**Thoughts anyone? I welcome them! :]**


	3. Chapter 3

**I put this off for too long, but here's the third chapter! :D to my special reviewers, i want to thank you for your lovely comments, they keep me going!**

Batman stared, and I stared right back.

I had to admit, it was pretty funny. The situation reminded me of when Dick first caught _me_ stealing tires – specifically the Mayor's tires – and brought me in to Police HQ. Except I wasn't the one Dick had stared at. He'd given the Mayor a pretty menacing glare for calling me a "filthy street rat". The look had sent some serious chills down my spine, and it hadn't even been directed at me.

The Mayor's ghosted face, however, had been _priceless_. And, being the nine year old I was at the time, I couldn't help but bust into hysterical laughter when he mumbled his apology to me.

I've seen my good share of police glares, and trust me when I say _none_ compared to Dick's.

Except for Batman's.

But right now, I found myself handling Batman's stare pretty well. Meaning I wasn't cringing and spluttering and apologizing like a wimp. No way. That was not my thing.

Besides, why he was interrogating_ me_? Eddie was the one who was gonna go through with the totally failed plan! But I wasn't about to point fingers like that. No matter how much he frustrated me sometimes, I always had Eddie's back.

I leaned back on the chair, raising a brow at Batman, "Well, if you didn't want anyone to eye your tires, then maybe you shouldn't have parked your _billion dollar car_ with its _billion dollar wheels_ in a place like _Crime Alley_." I shrugged, "That's just my opinion, though."

"I guess you're right." The way he said it let me know he didn't really mean it.

I rolled my eyes and sat up, "Hey, we didn't take your tires. And yes, that might've been because you interrupted, but you did drive us here in your Batmobile, so…no harm done!" Despite the fact that Eddie and I knew we were in neck deep, the ride inside Batman's car had been beyond insanely cool.

Batman looked at me without saying anything, and I raised my brows, "So...what now?"

After another brief moment, he began to talk. "You've stolen civilians' tires before. Forty-two times, to be exact."

Okay, whoa. No police could know that, because I've gotten caught stealing tires only _four_ times.

"Uhh – "

"On top of all that, you've stolen from countless convenient stores within the radius of Crime Alley, Old Gotham, and Robbinsville 28. You _have_ bought from them occasionally, but thieving outweighs those few occasions."

Holy crap.

"You've also been placed in and gotten kicked out of nearly every orphanage in the city, so I doubt putting you back in one is a very efficient solution to tonight's event."

"Okay I get it!" I slumped back in my seat and grumbled, "You're the goddamn Batman and you know everything about everyone. Message received."

"Not everything." I could swear I saw his mouth twitch up in a smirk, "I've only skimmed your recent activity."

"Well you've got a lot of reading ahead of you, old man." I mumbled.

He looked startled for a moment. Did my nickname offend him? Pretty sensitive for a guy in a bat costume. He didn't even look a day over thirty.

"So, what are we going to do with me?" I sardonically quoted the line I've had nearly every cop ask me since I was a kid.

"You don't have any relatives? No one distant?" It wasn't really a question, it sounded more like a confirmation.

"Nope. Don't want a family, don't need one."

"You sound like you speak from experience."

This guy was good.

"I got adopted once." I admitted, "It was right after – right after my mom died. I was nine. This nice married couple made the mistake of choosing me knowing they didn't understand me. In the beginning, they told me it was okay to be angry, said it was okay to be sad. But after while, they got tired of it, of me. They said I got too angry too often." I rolled my eyes. "I broke things, got into trouble every day at school. Then one day, they find out they're pregnant, and they send me straight back to where they got me from." I shook my head and looked down at my hands, "I figured it out too late. You have to hide the anger, mask the pain, control it. But that's just something I've never been able to do." I threw my hands up and let them fall back, slapping onto my knees, "So here I am."

"I'm sorry." He looked like he actually meant it.

"Thanks. Your pity just warms my heart."

"What happened to your mother?"

I shrugged, making myself nonchalant as possible. "We were both in a car accident. I survived, she didn't."

Honestly, I couldn't remember much about it. I was young, and all I could ever remember from that night was unbelievable pain and someone pulling me out from the burning car before I'd blacked out.

That pain never seemed to go away.

Batman's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, "What about your father?"

"I never knew him. He left before I was born."

The bitterness in my tone was audible even to me, and I scowled to myself in frustration. Get your act together, Ramirez! It was time to blow this popsicle stand while at least _some_ of my dignity was still intact.

"Okay, Batman, I'm really tired and really, _really_ hungry, and those two combinations don't really go well with me. Can we please just move on already?"

The guy was already one step ahead of me. I had to admit, I liked his efficiency.

"I had Commissioner Gordon find you a spot in a home for troubled youths. It's not far from here, so he'll be able to keep tabs on your behavior. They'll look after you there, help you get on the right track."

This guy just totally lost the respect I had for him. Or what little I had of it, anyway. EXHAUSTED + STARVED = WHINEY TEENAGE TANTRUM

I jumped out of my chair like I'd been electrocuted, and my voice practically rose an octave. "_Wha_t_? _You're locking me away in a _dude_ _ranch?"_

Is this what Batman was _for_? Did he chase bad guys all over the city just to send them to their room and make them think about what they've done? How was this vigilante justice!?

"Troubled youths homes isn't just for – "

"No way! Look, _Batman_. I sleep on the _streets_. I _live_ in the alleyways of Gotham. _This_ is who I am, and no troubled youths home is going to change that. So _deal with it_." I stood up and stormed out of the small office, throwing the door open and slamming it shut behind me.

I totally just signed my death sentence.

I tried not to let that bug me.

"Alex!"

I came to an abrupt stop and whirled around just as Eddie caught my wrist, "Alex, wait up!"

Air rushed back into my lungs. He was okay!

"No, you hurry up because we're leaving." I thumbed back to the entrance doors.

He blinked in surprise, "They let you off the hook?"

I snorted, "When have they ever done that?"

"Troubled youths home?" He asked knowingly.

"Already registered. You?"

"Same." Eddie frowned and cast a glance back at the hallway, "Except they're separating us, putting a good ten mile radius in between us." He laughed, "Like that'll stop us. We can probably sneak out before morning and meet back in Crime Alley. We'll see where we go from there."

So the cops were putting distance between me and Eddie. Clearly, we were earning some kind of title. That was pretty cool.

Then it hit me.

Pulling my arm back, I glared up at him, "Hold it, Santos. I'm not making any plans with you until you tell me why the cops were after you."

Eddie sighed and looked at me gently, "Relax, I explained everything to Grayson. It's all fine."

Eddie got interrogated by Dick? No fair! Dick probably gave him a lollipop as a reward for fessing up. All I got was, oh that's right – nothing!

"No, it's not all fine! You do realize that the reason why we're in this dumb situation in the first place is because of you?" I scowled and poked him in the chest.

"Yeah, yeah, rookie mistake, blah blah, you told me so, blah blah." He laughed at my expression, "Don't worry, I'll explain everything to you later. Because right now, the big bad-ass bat is coming after us."

"Crime Alley after five?" I mumbled, turning around to face the approaching Batman and Dick. Funny how they both seemed to share that air of calm authority.

"Make it six thirty. I need my beauty rest."

Rolling my eyes, I resisted the urge to nudge him in the ribs.

Dick grinned at me, "Good to see you again, Alex. Bonus points for making a copy of my keys when I wasn't looking."

"Just goes to show you're always there to help, Dick." I pulled the key out from the pocket of my hoodie and tossed it to him.

He swiftly caught it with a chuckle, "Thanks."

I looked to Batman, "Hey, is it okay if Dick takes me to the home of my troubled self?"

Dick shook his head in amusement, and Batman…well, he had his Batman face on.

"Change your mind about the dude ranch already?"

Eddie stifled a snort of laughter.

I rolled my eyes, "No way. But I'm half asleep right now and a bed sounds _really_ nice." My judgment was seriously clouded by utter exhaustion. Soon I wouldn't even be able to blink without nodding off.

"I can drop both of them off." Dick said to Batman.

"Then I'm done here."

We all walked out into the night, and I shuddered as the cold night crept up my skin. I pulled the red hood of my sweatshirt over my head and shoved my hands into my pockets. I was itching to get into the patrol car and turn the heater up.

I caught Batman's frown, and squinted my eyes at him, "What? Red isn't your color?"

Dick laughed quietly, and Batman turned to disappear into the darkness. His voice echoed faintly around us, "Stay out of trouble."

Not possible. Trouble followed me.


	4. Chapter 4

_Wayne Manor. 03:21 AM_

_Bruce's POV_

Bruce sat at the kitchen counter, absentmindedly stirring his steaming coffee. The mansion was dead silent, the only sound being his spoon repeatedly clinking against the walls of his coffee mug.

Moments later, Alfred appeared at the door of the kitchen, pausing to observe Bruce frowning deeply at the cream colored walls. He crossed over to the fridge and began pouring himself a glass of milk, "Nothing else planned for tonight, Master Bruce?"

"Not for the next two hours, at least." Bruce lifted the mug to his mouth, but didn't drink from it. "Are Tim and Damian still in San Francisco?"

"Indeed they are. While you were out, however, Master Tim informed me that they were shortening their stay with the Teen Titans." Alfred began heating up his milk, "It was evident from the tone in his voice that Master Damian had much to do with that schedule change."

Bruce's lips twitched in a small smirk before taking a drink of his coffee. "Hmm." In all honesty, he was glad to know his sons were coming back sooner than intended. The absence of bickering and punches and glass breaking was very noticeable, and the silence – something Bruce had always embraced – was loud enough to drive him mad.

Alfred took his glass of warm milk and turned to Bruce, a slightly concerned and curious look showing on his face. "May I ask how your patrol over the Northern side of the city went?"

Bruce set his mug down on the polished counter and looked at Alfred, "Do you remember Alejandra Ramirez? The young girl Dick once told us about?"

Alfred thought for a brief second before nodding, "Ah, yes. Master Richard is very fond of her, isn't he?"

"I met her tonight, along with her friend Eddie Santos. They'd stumbled across the Batmobile and couldn't help but notice its tires."

Alfred didn't seem to make the connection like Bruce had.

His butler smiled, "Master Richard did say she was one to stir up trouble. It's fairly logical that she knows how to use a lug wrench. And this wouldn't be the first time someone tries to steal your tires, it's happened occasionally in the past few years."

Bruce drummed his fingers on the tabletop, his brow creasing, "I checked the security footage from the car. Santos was the one who wanted to sell the tires. He didn't contemplate the risks, the consequences. But Alejandra did."

"I assume that's the result of living on the streets for so long. As I recall, Master Richard first came across her at the age of nine. She's had plenty of time to learn street smarts since then."

"She's different from the others on the street, Alfred." Bruce insisted, "Those few people who've seen the Batmobile made the same mistakes as Eddie, if not more. They got too close too quickly, were too careless. But she didn't even get in range of the car. The only thermals and air currents the Batmobile registered were those of Eddie. Not to mention the video recognition got a clear shot of him. Alejandra showed up in the video, of course, but it was as if she positively knew they were both being recorded." Bruce recalled her paranoia from watching the footage.

"_C'mon, Eddie, he's BATMAN for crying out loud! The guy is the world's greatest detective! The tires probably have tracking devices, or maybe the car has a camera running and is recording everything we're saying! He'll probably guess your name out of the top of his head just by seeing his tires have been stolen!"_

"Well, as Batman, you tend to stir up some wild imaginations in everyone, Master Bruce." Alfred said as he finished the rest of his warm milk. "Perhaps Miss Alejandra has heard many bone-chilling stories about you."

Bruce couldn't help but give a small smile, "She reads the newspaper, too."

Even Alfred seemed amused, "My, there aren't many teenagers who do that nowadays. Master Damian snatches them from the front steps bright and early and gives it to Alfred the cat for his litter box." Alfred washed his glass and placed it back in its spot. He glanced back at Bruce and raised a brow, "You seem to be taking quite an interest in this girl, Master Bruce."

"She seems very familiar." Bruce admitted after a long pause.

"Is it perhaps because she reminds you of yourself?" Alfred mused. "Or of any of the boys who've lived in this household? Lost, and in need of a true home?"

Bruce, unable to suppress his own theory any longer, rubbed his face and let out a heavy sigh, "She reminds me of Jason."

Alfred was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his tone was cautiously curious. "How so? If I remember correctly, Master Jason was just as careless about snatching your tires as the other street children were."

"I know, but…" Bruce shook his head, "You have to meet Alejandra yourself, Alfred. There's just something about her that _screams_ Jason." He remembered the way her eyes – _green_ eyes – flashed, her impatience, her temper, the way she masked her pain. It was like Jason in another body. The only difference between them was that Alejandra showed a degree of restraint…she had _morals_.

Alfred interrupted his careening train of thoughts. "Mmm, perhaps you can ask Master Richard to bring her here for an afternoon visit? He'll introduce us as his family, which is nothing but the truth, and we'll create the illusion that we're all fairly normal." Alfred smiled, "It's not much of a challenge for _this_ specific family, really."

Bruce smiled wryly, "That's not a bad idea, Alfred. Though we'll probably have to send Damian off to Japan for the day. Something tells me those two will clash heads, and Damian isn't one to hold back on a fight."

"Then it's settled. We'll have Alejandra Ramirez as our guest, and we'll all see for ourselves if any of part of her is Jason." Alfred was about to walk out of the kitchen, but he paused to look at Bruce. "Master Bruce?"

Bruce looked back to Alfred, spotting the cautious look in his eyes. "You do understand that by granting this young girl access into your home, you're also granting her access into your heart?"

There it was. The question Bruce knew Alfred had been tossing around from the beginning of this conversation. He sighed, "It's not necessarily – "

"Because we all know where it goes on from there, Master Bruce." Alfred continued kindly, but with an air of firmness, "You hand them a cape and cowl, you exercise their abilities, and then the time comes when you let them leave the nest. And it's from there, Master Bruce, when terrible things start to happen." There was a slight quiver in Alfred's voice, and the sorrow in his expression was clear as daylight. "And…if this girl carries the same character as Master Jason…"

"I know." Bruce's voice came out harder than intended, and he slowly forced the death grip he had on his mug to loosen. He sighed, feeling that all too familiar guilt gnaw at his consciousness. "That won't happen, Alfred. I'll make sure of it."

There was a long pause of silence before Alfred's expression softened, "Of course, Master Jason _has_ improved greatly in character in the past few years. He even keeps in touch with us. I suppose much of it is due to the friends he carries, despite them being 'outlaws.'"

Bruce felt some of the weight in his chest lighten at the thought of the _present_ Jason. He still carried his burning anger, but that was just something that ran so deep in Jason's bones that it was impossible for him to abandon it – Bruce finally understood that.

But despite that lingering trait, Jason was still a hero. An anti-hero, but a hero nonetheless.

Bruce felt some of his smile return, "Yeah." He stood up and walked out of the kitchen with Alfred.

Before they went their separate ways to their rooms, Alfred looked to Bruce, "I suppose I should prepare a giant meal for when Miss Alejandra visits?"

"Definitely. I can guarantee you there won't be any leftovers."


	5. Chapter 5

"Alex, do you really think I'd let anyone, let alone _Batman_, throw you in some random youths' home without me investigating first?"

Dick's extremely convincing and assuring tone nearly got me out of the police car, but I held my ground.

I glared at him as I scooted further away from his outstretched arm and deeper into the backseat, "First rule when you're out on the streets: never trust a cop!"

Eddie's laughter reached me from outside the car, "Oh, the _irony_ of that!"

Dick grinned, but continued trying to lure me out of the backseat of the car. "Alex, I know you trust _me_, and I _promise_ you'll be fine."

I snorted in disgust, "I'm not worried about my _safety_. I just hate that I'm being put into another building for the billionth time in my life!"

"C'mon, Alex." Eddie said, and he came into view beside Dick, "I thought you said you _wanted_ to sleep in a bed tonight! Or whatever's left of the night, anyway."

"That was crazy talk. Now that I've had my five minute nap, I changed my mind."

Eddie looked to Dick, "If we'd done lesson eight on how to charm a lady, she would've thrown herself out of the car and into my arms ten minutes ago."

Dick raised a brow skeptically, "I don't think it would've made a difference. She's pretty much immune to your charms."

"At least she cuddled with me in the backseat when she was sleeping. I totally deserve bonus points for that."

I immediately flared up at that, "I was _not_ cuddling you!"

"Though it probably would've been more romantic if she hadn't been snoring. Not even your sirens could drown that out. Plus, I think she drooled on me." Eddie showed the sleeve of his gray sweatshirt to Dick.

"I thought you were a blanket!" I snapped defensively. It wasn't a lie. I'd gotten into the backseat of the police cruiser and sat as far away from Eddie as possible – I was still ticked off about the mystery over why the cops had gone after him – and next thing I knew, he was waking me up and telling me to stop clinging onto him because I was suffocating him.

It had been utterly humiliating _and_ horrifying on my part. Eddie, on the other hand, couldn't stop grinning.

"You _wish_ I was your blanket."

"I _wish_ I could strangle you." I growled back. But the truth was, he _did_ make a good blanket. Warm and comfortable and safe.

Now I was just being ridiculous.

"Go on." Eddie said, his dark eyes laughing, "I _dare_ you to try it."

I had to use every ounce of my fiber to suddenly _not_ smile.

The dare game was slightly different for the two of us. When we dared each other to do something, we weren't "daring" the other to perform the task at all. In truth, the secret message was: I _dare_ you to stay mad at me.

Despite my efforts, I felt the small corner of my mouth twitch up. "Nice try, but I'm not falling for that."

"Well, we're gonna get you out of the car anyway, so why don't you come out while Dick's still asking you politely?"

He was right, we all knew I was going to walk into that building any moment now, and it would be way easier if I just spared everyone the time and effort and got out now.

But that just wasn't in my nature.

"Tell you what." I suggested politely, "Why don't we all get back in the car, drop Eddie off at _his_ troubled youths' home, kick him out onto the front porch, and _then_ come back here and – "

Before I'd even finished my sentence, the door I was backed up against suddenly opened, and I fell right out with my hood flopping over my head.

Lucky for my skull, Eddie caught me from my armpits before I could hit the asphalt.

He smirked down at me. "You are way too stubborn for your own good, chica." And, before I could voice my protest, he scooped me up and carried me bridal style up to the front door of the home, where Dick was already waiting with his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face.

"Put me down before they open the door!" I squirmed around frantically, but Eddie didn't let go.

"Oh c'mon, don't pretend you _don't_ prefer this way better." His expression made it clear that he was having _way_ too much fun with this.

Dick elbowed Eddie with a wry smile. "See? Who said you needed lesson eight?"

At that moment, the door was opened by a guy around Eddie's age and height, which, believe me, was _pretty tall_.

Anyway, he also had shaggy blond hair that had natural brown streaks in it, and his eyes were green like mine, except his were probably a shade or two lighter and _definitely_ looked better on him.

Okay, so maybe being put in a troubled youths home wasn't_ all_ that bad…

Eddie looked at the teenager in surprise, "Nate?"

The boy – _Nate_, apparently – looked puzzled for a brief moment, but then he grinned and opened the door wider, "Eddie Santos!"

They both bust into laughter as they did a handshake that was clearly well practiced. (I don't know how Eddie managed to do that without dropping me, but that question was quickly replaced by a new one.)

My jaw dropped to the floor. They _knew_ each other?!

Nate looked to Dick and gave a more formal handshake, "Hey, Dick. Good to see you around here again."

"The same to you. How're things going?"

"Much better, actually." Nate smiled and gestured for us to enter, "Come on in, Madeline's been waiting for you guys to arrive."

"Sorry if we kept you guys waiting up all night." Eddie said as he proceeded to carry me in, "But you know how girls are."

"Put me _down_!" I snapped, pushing myself away from him.

"See?" Eddie said to Nate as he let my feet touch the ground.

Once upright, I shouldered into Eddie, throwing him off balance and sending him stumbling to the side. He accidentally knocked a vase off its pedestal, and it crashed onto the floor.

We all looked down at the spilled flowers in surprise.

Dick looked to Nate darkly, "This is only the beginning."

"No worries, there's a lot of roughhousing around here." Nate's grin softened into a smile as he looked at me, "It's nice to see you haven't changed much, Alex."

There was a heartbeat of silence. Dick coughed into his fist and I could swear I saw him smirk at Eddie.

I raised my brows at Nate, "You know me?"

"With snoring like yours, who _doesn't_ know you?" Eddie joked, and I lightly elbowed him in the ribs, frowning as I kept my eyes glued to Nate.

"It was two years ago. I met Eddie on the streets after I got away from St Joseph's Orphanage." Nate explained to me, "We became buddies in minutes, and he helped me stay on my feet for a while. The two of you were already friends at the time." Nate chuckled as he scratched his head, "You didn't talk to me much, though."

"Don't worry, it takes a lot of work for her to like anyone." Dick assured Nate, "She's always been like that."

I stared harder at Nate, willing my brain to remember his face. But Eddie's been helping so many street kids over the years that I started losing track of them a long time ago.

"Nate's the guy who has the same birthday as me, remember?" Eddie said, trying to help me out. "Plus, you were pretty rude to him even though he was nice to you all the time, which, to be honest, really impressed me."

My eyes widened as I suddenly remembered _where_ I'd seen him before, but before I could say anything else, a young but tired-looking woman walked in.

She stopped and blinked when she saw the mess on the floor, and a look of relief immediately replaced her confused expression, "Oh good, I hated that vase."

This place just kept getting better and better.

"Madeline, these are the guys you've been waiting for." Nate smiled as he thumbed to us.

"Of course!" Madeline beamed at me, "You must be Alejandra Ramirez. It's great to meet you. You're even prettier than I imagined. That's a compliment, by the way."

"Yeah, she is."

Eddie's voice was so low I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic, but I ignored him anyway and awkwardly shook Madeline's outstretched hand, "Uh, hi. I got your vase knocked down. On accident. But I guess you don't really care."

Madeline laughed as she waved her hand in the air dismissively, "Oh, not at all. I hate the color orange."

"Thank you for giving Alex a place here, Madeline." Dick said, looking sincerely grateful. "No one appreciates it more than I do, believe me."

"_I_ believe you." I retorted, crossing my arms.

Madeline didn't even seem to hear me. She was too busy staring dreamily at Dick's dazzling expression.

Seriously. Happens all the time. With any woman. Any age. Any name.

Dick Grayson, in the immortal words of his best friend Wally West (who I've met countless times before), was a _dog_.

I let out an extremely loud sigh, and seemed to break Madeline free of Dick's spell.

"Oh, it's really no problem." Madeline said, blushing a bright pink. "That's what this place is for." She paused before admitting sheepishly, "Well, she'll be the only girl here. But this place isn't too crowded, either."

I made a huge show of turning around and smiling widely at Dick, "Mind passing that message along to your _Bat friend_?" I made sure the last two words dripped with heavy sarcasm.

Dick looked slightly surprised, but he quickly smoothed his expression with a wry smile, "If I ever see him again, I'll let him know."

"You better." A loud yawn escaped my mouth as I shoved my hands into the pocket of my hoodie. My eyelids were starting to feel heavy with sleep again.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going." Dick said to Eddie, who'd been nodding off the past few minutes.

Dick walked up to me, giving me a stern look, "Alex, I want as minimum amount of trouble from you in the next _twenty four hours_. Please."

I waved my hand dismissively as I yawned again, "Yeah, okay. You worry too much, Grayson."

His expression softened as he gave me a warm smile, "I'll keep in touch, like always. Okay?"

I had to smile at that, "I know."

Dick gave me a hug, and I got that same depressed feeling I've always gotten whenever he's dropped me off at an orphanage.

I was so tired, I almost called him dad.

"See you later, Dick."

He let go and smiled before looking at Madeline and giving her one of his renowned heart melting grins, "Thanks again, Madeline. Call me if anything happens with Alex or anything else around here, or if you just feel like talking."

Madeline's blush and smile deepened as she shook his hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Of course. Thanks again, Richard."

Clearly, Eddie was learning from the Master.

"Some words of advice, Nate?" Dick gestured toward me with a tilt of his head, "Stay sharp."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes in exasperation, "You say it like I'm going to _kill_ him!"

Nate laughed as he moved to stand beside me, "Thanks, Dick. I'll try."

Dick waved one last time before walking out of the door, "Make it quick, Eddie."

Eddie wasted no time in crossing the short space between us and pulling me into his arms in a hug.

He felt just as warm as when I'd drooled on him in the car, and I rested my forehead on his chest, something I've always done whenever he's had the rare opportunity to get his arms around me.

"You're suffocating me." I said sarcastically, my voice muffled by his sweater.

He laughed. "It's called payback." His head bent down to mumble in my ear, "Six thirty, okay?"

"Noted."

Eddie released me and he smiled, playfully yanking my hood over my face, "Bye, Little Red."

I was surprised he'd suddenly used my old nickname from when we were kids, but I grinned as I shoved at him, "So long, Dum-dum."

Yep. My nickname for him was so much better.

Eddie grinned at Nate as they did their handshake (which I now realized was from when they were younger), and said with a very grave look on his face, "Good luck, _hermano_."

"Oh c'mon, I don't think she's _that_ bad." Nate said, gesturing to me with an outstretched arm.

Eddie laughed as he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Madeline's hand rested lightly on my shoulder, and I peeled my eyes away from the door. "Alex, your room is on the third floor on the left side of the staircase. Nate can lead you there, since he sleeps on the same floor. If you need anything, my room is down that hallway. Knock anytime you like." She pointed the way before giving a rather exhausted smile, "I'll see you both in the morning. Or afternoon."

"'Night Madeline." Nate said as she turned to leave.

We both made brief eye contact, but he quickly looked away, "Uh, let's go this way."

It was pretty quiet the long trek up the three flights of stairs, and I could tell Nate felt awkward, maybe even nervous. I couldn't help but smirk.

He hadn't changed a bit.

We reached the final floor and Nate led me down the hall to the last door on the left. He opened the door and flicked the lights on as we walked in.

It was an ordinary room with a bed, a dresser, and a nightstand. The white walls were fairly clean, and there was carpet instead of wood like everywhere else.

"It's pretty decent." Nate said, echoing my thoughts. "There's a window, too, in case you need some dirty air in your lungs, or if you want the police sirens to blast your eardrums off." He shrugged.

"That's always comforting. For me, at least."

"Yeah." After another long pause, Nate cleared his throat, "So…uh, goodnight." He turned around.

I bit my lip, hesitating.

_C'mon, Alex, say it. Just spit it out. Say it!_

"We went to Elementary school together." I blurted out.

Nate stopped and turned to face me, his lips twitching up in a small smile. "You remember that?"

I let out a heavy sigh, "Yeah. Well, only a little."

His eyes lit up curiously, "Like what?"

I plopped down on the edge of the bed, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my palm. Man, I was too tired for this. "Uhh, we were in the same class in third grade. But I didn't notice you until after my mom died."

That last word created a heavy silence in the room, but I pushed past it and continued with a mumble. "It was my first day back in school after the accident. I wasn't doing well, not emotionally."

_I sat on the wooden bench, staring blankly at the ground in front of me. Everyone else was having a great time playing and laughing all over the playground._

"I didn't even notice when you came and sat a few feet away from me until you scooted closer."

Nate hesitated before moving to carefully sit beside me on the edge of the bed.

_Nate inched closer to me, and I turned to stare before deciding to ignore him. I could see him fidgeting nervously from the corner of my eye, but I kept my eyes on the ground, not caring if he left or not._

_When the bell rang and Recess was over, all of the kids scrambled to line up for class. After several moments of waiting for me, Nate got up and ran to line up in front of our classroom._

"And at Lunch, you sat next to me again."

_I didn't even look at Nate as he sat beside me. He looked a little more relaxed this time. __At some point, I noticed him scratching on the bench with a paperclip. But I ignored it and continued to stare at the ground. __Later, the bell rang, and Nate got up to line up for class._

"When you stood up, I saw what you'd scratched onto the bench."

_Hi._

Nate smiled sheepishly. "I was too scared to talk to you. I felt like if I made even the smallest sound, you would break."

"I probably would have." I said, grimacing.

I hated admitting it to myself, but I'd been extremely damaged in the first few weeks after my mom died. I hadn't known how to react to anything, let alone _what_ to react to. Being absolutely and completely numb was a weird experience, but it hadn't lasted long. After those first weeks of emptiness were over, all I ever really felt was anger.

"It helped, though." I mumbled grudgingly, continuing the conversation. "That one word made me feel…not completely alone. Like there was someone who actually noticed something was wrong with me, and actually _cared_."

"I did care."

I sighed heavily, "I know. And I hated you for that." He blinked in surprise, and I explained, "I didn't _want _anyone to care, to help me. Not my foster parents, not the orphanage, not anyone. I was alone, and I wanted it to stay that way." I shrugged, "But it didn't really work out, because I met Eddie and Dick, and I can't imagine where I'd be without them." I paused, "Well, I know I'd be _dead_, but you get my point, right?"

Nate laughed quietly, "Glad you cleared that up for me." His light expression saddened, "Both of my parents were mugged. It was on their way home from having a dinner with some of their old friends. I'd stayed at home doing some homework, and the cops showed up to let me know what had happened. I was thirteen."

I didn't say anything. I hated receiving pity, and I hated giving it just as much. But that was just because I knew pity was pointless, it didn't fix anything.

"You're a decent guy." I said, breaking the depressing silence. "How'd you end up in a 'troubled youths home'?"

"I was put in an orphanage, but I hated it. I went on my own for a while, and that was when I met Eddie and you." His mouth twitched into the smallest smile, "You ignored me during the short time I spent with you guys, but Eddie and I got along great. After a while, though, I started getting pretty tired of being a stray, and when I came across Madeline, I let her put me in here. It's better than an orphanage, in my opinion. You don't have to worry about getting adopted or not."

"I prefer the cold, hard streets of Gotham to places like this. It's nice and all, but it's just not my comfort zone."

It was ironic to describe Crime Alley as being a 'comfort zone', since the streets were anything _but_ comforting.

"You'll get used to it." He offered helpfully.

"I doubt it. But this bed is pretty soft." I bounced lightly on it. Hmm, maybe _too_ soft. I wasn't used to this kind of luxury. I'd probably end up sleeping on the floor, which also looked too comfortable for my liking.

Nate chuckled, "It was nice doing this…just talking."

"Yeah, I guess it was."

Nate stood up and walked over to turn the lights off. He turned to smile at me, "See you in the morning."

"Sure."

He closed the door and I sat listening as his footsteps faded away.

I flopped down on the bed and curled up in a ball, closing my eyes tiredly.

I almost fell asleep, but the bed was too comfortable, just as I'd predicted. I rolled onto my other side, but it didn't work, either. I sat up and punched my pillow a couple of times before falling back onto it.

After about half an hour of doing this, I growled in frustration and yanked the blanket off the bed, dragging it behind me as I lied down on the floor and pulled it over me.

I fell right asleep.

**What is this? A "long" chapter? And what's the new character about? Well, I can be a sucker for romance. And love triangles. Love triangles are crazy.**


	6. Chapter 6

**So the reason this took so long was because I kept changing my ideas. This is the one I stuck with, so ta da! It's finally here! And just in case you guys need a refresher, I recommend skimming chapter two. Hope you guys like it! :D**

"You look _awful_." I grinned at Eddie as he made his way over to me.

"Yeah, well, three hours of sleep isn't exactly what you'd call _beauty sleep_." He plopped onto the curb beside me and exaggeratedly leaned against me, practically flattening me onto the sidewalk. "Ugh. Can you carry me please?"

I smiled and pushed him back up into a sitting position. "I can _drag_ you back to you place, if you want."

"I'm cool with that." He mumbled, resting his forehead on my shoulder.

I ruffled his already messy hair, "Hey! No more sleeping!" When he ignored me, I shoved him a little roughly, "_Despierta_!" I scowled, "Eddie, c'mon. You still have to tell me why the _hell_ you almost got arrested the other night."

"I tried to take Batman's tires. You were there, too. Good times, no?"

I rolled my eyes at him, "I meant right _before_ that. You know, when I was dreaming about waffles and then you woke me up because we had to chase the cops off our tails and one of them was like 'Hey, that's the Santos kid!' and I was like 'What the hell did he do _now_?' and then we had to break through wood and my shoulder is still kinda sore from that and then we ran into Crime Alley and you saw the Batmobile and that was when you got the _brilliant_ idea of – "

Eddie clamped a hand over my mouth, "Message received!" He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his free hand, "You ramble on _way_ too much when you're tired."

Yeah, I babbled endlessly about the weirdest things when I was dog-tired. I got really emotional, too. Like, if you tell me the entire world's waffle factories were suddenly abducted by aliens, I'd bawl my eyes out.

I swatted his hand away from my mouth and sighed as I struggled to clear my head, "Look, I know whatever you did can't be as bad as what I'm imagining. When Batman took us to the police station, you got let off _both_ hooks. They didn't keep you there for stealing the tires, and they didn't keep you there for the other thing you did, right? So…" I leaned menacingly over him, "Tell me!"

He smirked at my impatience and sat up, "All right, just don't get _too_ pissed off at me, okay?"

"That's just letting me know that I _should_ get pissed off."

"I was with Carina."

Okay, that was unexpected.

Just to clarify, Carina was Eddie's ex-girlfriend. And the reason for the "_ex_" part was kinda because of me, but _not_ for the reason you're thinking, people! It wasn't because I was all jealous and nagging and whatever, because – news flash! – I didn't see Eddie that way! I mean, sure I did when I was way younger, but Eddie and Carina had been together barely a year ago, and I'd been pretty much over my little crush by then. Besides – as much as I hated admitting it – Carina was pretty cool, and she's always been nice to me, so I couldn't just hate her like I wanted to. But I'd kept my distance from her and Eddie anyway. Not just because they'd been disgustingly gooey to watch, but also because I'd _known_ they were hanging out with trouble.

See, Carina had an older brother who was a little older than Eddie, and of course the idiot had seen him as some sort of role model. Back then, Eddie would pretty much ditch me to be with Carina and Raphael all the time, and of course that pissed me off, but I'd never complained about it, I would just give Eddie the cold shoulder and stuff.

The reason I bristled at Raphael was because I _knew_ he worked with the drug cartels. I'd warned Eddie about it, but he'd promised me that he wouldn't get tangled up in stuff like that. Carina had doubted her brother, too, and she'd _also_ warned Eddie _from the beginning_ to not get involved with anything Raphael offered him. So, basically, we'd _both_ warned Eddie, and he'd promised _both_ of us that he'd steer clear from risks like that.

Next thing you know, I was at the docks trying to save Eddie's butt from getting shot by a dozen armed guys. Yeah, it hadn't ended well. And I said that because _I_ was the one who'd ended up getting shot in the shoulder, _twice_. Remember I told you guys that? I sure as hell remembered it.

Anyway, the whole reason Eddie had broken up with Carina was because he'd felt bad about how his stupid actions almost got me killed, and he'd needed a break. Carina had totally understood, and I'd almost thrown up at how cliché and romantic their break-up was. I'd been a witness to it because they'd both been in the hospital room with me when they thought I was "unconscious."

So yeah, now you knew who Carina was.

I wiped invisible dust off my sweater nonchalantly, "Huh. You were with her? Wait." A grin spread across my face as I turned to look at him, "Is _she_ the one you've been trying to charm?"

Eddie rolled his eyes, "No, it had nothing to do with that."

"Well, why else would she call the cops on you?"

His eyes widened and his mouth fell slightly open. We both stared at each other before immediately bursting into laughter.

"Oh, man! That was a _good_ one." Eddie lightly shoved me and laughed again before smirking curiously, "Am I really that bad at it?"

I looked up at the sky and tapped my finger on my chin as I pretended to think hard, "Hmm, I'm the only one 'immune' to it, so my bet is that Carina's sitting in her room forcing herself to not beg you to take her back – "

I was cut off as Eddie leaned in slowly, his cool breath tickling my ear. "So you're saying it works?" He murmured, fingers lightly tracing slow circles on the back of my hand.

_What the – ?_

I forced myself to swallow and kept my tone nonchalant, "Sure. Need proof? We get free, clean laundry every week."

Eddie laughed softly and leaned back, and I immediately relaxed.

"Hey, lover boy?" I waved my hand in front of his thoughtful face, "I didn't wake up this early to give you romantic advice. That's what Dick's for."

"Yeah," He agreed, suddenly back to his normal self, "you're terrible when it comes to that kind of stuff."

"Eddie, seriously, what did you do?" I was at full attention now, ready to get down to business and yell at him for whatever it was he'd done.

Eddie sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "About a week ago, Carina found me and said she needed help getting Raphael out of some trouble with the drug cartels."

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" I was already frothing at the mouth. "Have you not learned _anything_ from the last time you did that? What the _hell_ were you thinking, Eddie? You knew you were gonna get caught and yet you went out and help the idiot! What– "

Eddie waved his hand in the air dismissively, "Yeah, yeah I know. It was stupid. I make a lot of mistakes, blah, blah. But look, that's not why I wanted to meet you here." He turned serious, "While I was blending in with the guys, they said some things that I found pretty interesting."

"Like what?" I demanded, still irritated.

"They were complaining about how their boss had no idea what the hell he was doing, and that they'd been better off with the Red Hood."

I blinked in surprise, my annoyance vanishing. The Red Hood was someone I'd always been curious about. Probably because I felt I could relate to him, you know, anger-wise. And, call me crazy, but he seemed weirdly…familiar.

"Yeah. They were just talking about how he disappears and reappears around town randomly, and how they think he's searching for something, or some_one_."

"Well, he works with the Bat Family." I pointed out, "He's probably just helping out on one of their scope-outs or something."

Eddie shrugged, "I don't know, maybe. But the way those guys said it, it sounded like he was looking for someone important."

"Well, it's not like it has anything to do with us." I narrowed my eyes at him, "So I don't care that you got to gossip about Red Hood, or that you managed to help Raphael out without ending up behind bars or in the hospital, or that you looked like a '_hero'_ in Carina's eyes. You scared the _hell_ out of me when the cops were after you. So don't ever do anything stupid like that without _telling_ me, got it?"

Eddie put a hand over his heart and smiled mockingly, "It makes my insides all warm and fuzzy knowing you freak out over my safety, Alex."

"I'm not kidding." I growled, refusing to let that _smile_ of his get to me. "Because of the little 'misunderstanding' the cops had with your involvement in drugs, we got thrown into troubled youths homes!" I sharply pointed an accusing finger at him, "I was forced to sleep on carpet because of you!"

Eddie arched an eyebrow, "What was wrong with the bed?"

"What else? It was too soft."

He laughed and shook his head, "You're incredible." He suddenly remembered something, and sat up, "Hey, so did you get to talk to Nate? Do you remember him a _little_ more clearly now?"

"Yeah, I remember him." I mumbled, toying with the string of my red hood. I'd decided the moment I climbed out my window that I wouldn't tell Eddie about my conversation with Nate because it felt so…personal. There wasn't much I remembered from before my mom's death, and I didn't know if it had to do with trauma or if it was because I just had a really bad memory. But this was one of the few things I actually remembered clearly, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to share it with anyone, even Eddie. It felt _that_ special.

Eddie gazed at me curiously, and I knew he knew I wasn't telling him everything. I sighed, "And I apologized for being a jerk when he tagged along with us two years ago." His suspicious expression cleared, and I suppressed a sigh of relief.

Eddie smiled, "That's nice. You'll grow to like Nate, he's a cool guy."

"I bet. You two even have your own special handshake going on there."

"Bromance is a common thing."

I snorted and rolled my eyes, "Looks like Carina has some competition to worry about."

Eddie laughed, "You're so cute when you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous!" I exploded.

"That's what any jealous person would say. But okay."

"Ugh." I buried my face in my hands, "Can we just go already? You told me everything that happened, and that's all I needed to know. And I forgive you for being an idiot. With a huge heart." I shook my head, "You really can't stop yourself, can you? You just have to help anyone who needs it."

I looked up, and he was gazing at me with those eyes of his.

"Well yeah." He said softly, "You were the first person that ever helped _me_ when I was on the streets. Remember the sandwich? I knew you were starving as much as I was, but you practically forced me to take it. So now, whenever I see someone who's as desperate as I was, I can't help but help them." He smiled at his weak pun. "Know why? Because every time I aid someone in their time of need, I feel like I'm honoring _you_."

Whoa…

"Even if it gets you killed?" Instead of coming out sarcastic, my voice sounded ridiculously small. Curses! What was _up_ with me?

"Sure, why not?" Something in my expression caught his attention, and his own teasing expression softened. "But don't ever worry about that, okay? _I'll_ never leave _you_. I promise." He paused and then gave a small smile, "For real this time."

There was a long pause as I struggled to compose myself. Remember how I said that I get real emotional when I'm dead tired? Yeah, well, I was about ready to embarrass myself and cry Niagara Falls out of my eyeballs.

"That sandwich meant a lot to you, didn't it?" I joked, hoping my grin looked just right.

Eddie smiled and rolled his eyes, "Sure. The sandwich."

"Sandwiches are cool. But waffles are better."

"I bet they'll serve you some if you get back in time."

"_That_ would be awesome." I grinned for real this time.

We sat there for a few more moments, and I relaxed again when the mood returned back to normal.

After a while, when the skyline started to lighten, I got up and held my hand out to Eddie, helping him to his feet.

"Do you think they actually give us the freedom to spend life outside?" I suddenly asked, referring to the troubled youths' homes.

Eddie thought for a moment, "Orphanages didn't. But maybe these guys do."

I perked up, "So we don't have to wake up in the early hours and sneak out just to talk?"

Eddie laughed, "I guess not." He smiled and raised a questioning brow at me, "Does that mean we're sticking to living under a roof for a while? Because, I really don't mind." He shrugged, "Surprisingly, it's not as bad as orphanages are."

"We can give it a shot." I agreed.

"Cool! But we should probably get back before they notice we escaped and, you know, kick us out."

"I almost forgot to tell you!" I grinned widely up at him, "My home _is_ a dude ranch! I should have totally made a bet with Batman. Damn it! Why _didn't_ I do that?" I face-palmed myself.

Eddie laughed and stepped closer, gently placing my hood over my head, "See you later, Alex." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt and turned to jog away.

I watched him disappear safely around the corner, and then turned to go my own opposite way. I realized I was still grinning, and I snorted at myself. "You're a mess, Alejandra. Seriously. Stop acting like such a girl."

After walking down a few blocks, I suddenly found myself thinking about what Eddie said about the Red Hood.

"_They think he's searching for something, or some__**one**__."_

Strangely enough, that sentence was enough to make my chest tighten. But before I could think about it any further, I was knocked back into the alley wall by something that had the full force of a freaking wrecking ball.

I fell forward onto the ground with the wind completely knocked out of me. The back of my head throbbed a little painfully, and colorful splotches briefly smudged my vision. I blinked them back and looked up, feeling my jaw drop lower.

Some fat guy was the one who'd flattened me to the brick wall, and he was already out cold. But he wasn't the one I was looking at. I was gawking at the guy who'd _thrown_ Fattie.

"_Batman_?!"

Everything came to an abrupt stop, and all two dozen mercenaries turned to stare at me.

Even Batman halted, looking momentarily stunned at seeing me there.

Great. I'd landed right in the middle of something _huge_, and there was a very, _very_ small chance I'd get out of it alive.

"_Smoke her_!"

_Incredibly_ teeny, tiny, _small_ chance.

**Thoughts? I welcome any! :] and P.S. Nate and the whole bench thing are kinda based on something similar that happened when I was in elementary, so "Nate" is a real person! Sort of!**


	7. Chapter 7

_Jason's POV. On a rooftop. Moments before…_

The Santos kid was sitting _way_ too close to her, and that was something I was very, very annoyed at.

Arsenal, on the other hand, was just about ready to blow our cover by breaking into gut-busting laughter. I knew I shouldn't have let him tag along, but the red-head just wouldn't back down from getting the chance to see his 'niece' again, even if from a safe distance.

I couldn't blame him.

"You should really see your face, Jay." He snorted a laugh, "If you were Superman, Eddie's ashes would already be floating their way off Earth and out to Krypton by now."

I rolled my eyes at his lame joke, "I have my _helmet_ on, Roy. _You_ can't see my face."

"Oh please, as if anything could hide your overprotective daddy face right now."

I snorted as I glared down at Eddie, muttering under my breath. "I've got to tell Dick to stop giving the kid those damn lessons on how to get a girl." As much as I hated admitting it, I knew for a fact that they _worked_.

Roy smirked as he pulled his baseball cap off and ran a hand through his damp hair, "That kid is learning from the Master Dog. I'm surprised Alex hasn't given in yet. Santos has looks, charms, _and_ he's her best friend. It's like straight out of some trashy romance novel!" He grinned as he fixed his cap back on, "Speaking of Golden Boy, is Nightwing in town tonight, or is he playing vigilante in Blüdhaven?"

I fixed my attention back on Alex and Eddie below, narrowing my eyes into slits as he leaned in a micrometer closer to her with a warm smile on his face. "Pretty sure he's back in his apartment in Blüdhaven by now. He said to meet up there later for the weekly update." It was the perfect chance to threaten Dick into forcing Santos _back off_ from my daughter. I was still _enormously_ pissed off that his idiocy had once nearly cost her an _arm_. It was thanks to Dick that I was able to donate blood without raising any suspicions from anyone, not even from Bruce. He was still in the dark about who Alex was, and I wasn't about to change that. The less people knew about Alex, the safer she would stay.

Roy let out a bored groan as he dangled his legs over the edge of the building. Pulling an arrow from his quiver, he strung it onto his bow and casually aimed at Eddie. "We've been stalking Alex for like what, _five_ years now? That's more than a thousand weekly updates with Nightwing! When are you going to tell her the truth?" He demanded and turned his head to raise his brows at me, "Or are you planning to tell her at all anymore?"

"Knowing would just put her at risk." _Again._ "Besides, she doesn't need me, she's got Nightwing. And God knows he makes a better dad than I ever did." It was pretty obvious that Alex saw him as a father, too. It stung, and also brought all that wonderful pent-up anger and jealously towards Dick boiling back to the surface. My big brother would forever outshine me. But, honestly, it was _because_ I'd known he'd be so damn good at it that I put Dick in charge of being there for Alex, since I couldn't.

"So you're _never_ going to tell her? About _any_ of it?"

"Don't you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk, Harper? Because I do."

"So you won't because you think she'll hate your guts, never accept you, kick your sorry ass out of her life and move on without you? Well, I say bullshit." He threw an arm out to the clouded sky, "You said the _exact_ same thing about Claudia, and she did none of the above except chew you out for not telling her sooner that you'd come back down from St. Peter's pearly white gates."

"It's _not_ the _same_." I ground my teeth in frustration, lowering the heat in my voice. "And you sure as _hell_ know why I can't do it."

Roy was unfazed by my attitude, as usual. He suddenly turned serious. Well, as serious as Roy can get. "Yeah, I was there when it happened. The whole time. But I also saw you _live_ your life with Claudia, Jason." He paused, looking out across the rooftops a little sadly, before suddenly exploding. "For God's sake the three of us shared one damn apartment! How could I miss _anything_? Sure, you and Claudia were able to get it on, but whenever_ I_ wanted to bring a girl over I had to pay for a hotel!" He snorted, "And don't even get me started on _laundry_ nights."

There you go. Roy was incapable of being a serious guy. And I just had to smirk at that last statement.

"You two were crazy in love, Jason. And when I watched Bambi with Alex for the first time," He shook his head, "let me tell you, _Twitterpated_ is a real thing."

I choked a snort at what was once Alex's and Claudia's favorite movie, "Twitterpated." God, he missed her.

"And let me also tell you for the billionth time that I miss those days." Roy looked back down to Alex. "I remember when we went through nine months of hell with a pregnant Claudia, and then when Alex barfed on me for the first time, and when you and I taught her everything we knew about kicking ass." Roy patted his archery bow affectionately, "And then you just let all of that fade away. Don't look at me like that, Jay, I get why you did it. I would've done the same. But that doesn't mean I don't get nostalgic every now and then."

Alex and Claudia had _died_.

Black Mask. He'd figured it all out, had the Riddler piece the thousand piece puzzle together. He learned everything about Claudia, her connection with me, and hit the jackpot when he found out about Alejandra's existence.

The car crash? It had been _no_…_damn_…_**accident**_.

By the time I'd gotten to the site…Claudia was gone. Alex was barely alive. My nine-year-old had died in my arms.

But that man in the ambulance – Eugene – he brought her _back_. "There's no such thing as a lost cause," he'd said with a smile.

I hadn't bothered to tell him the woman I loved was in the other ambulance, the silent one.

It hadn't mattered that, legally, I was listed as John Doe, Claudia Ramirez as Paula Garcia, and Alejandra as Lizeth Ruiz. The enemy had found my weak points.

And that left me with no alternative. I couldn't watch my daughter get hurt because of me.

I'd had a member of the All-Caste, one of Ducra's gifted friends, erase me completely from the past nine years of Alejandra's life. I vanished from her memories. So did uncle Roy, and Dick, because he'd also known her from the day she was born.

Up until now, Alex believed that, for the first nine years, the only one she had was her mother. She didn't remember dying, either.

I'd had Ducra's friend do the same with Black Mask and Riddler's memories, and I'd personally taken care of every single one of their goons. The only thing that had stopped me from taking care of the bastard ringleaders myself was Nightwing. Killing them would have attracted Batman's attention, and that was the last thing I'd wanted at the time. That was also when I had Dick take up the mantle of being her guardian, because he was the only one I trusted to watch over Alex without tipping his hand.

Even though he could be my least favorite person sometimes, Dick was also the greatest brother I could ever ask for. _Timmy_ and Damian didn't quite make the list of 'Favorite Brother' yet, but Damian was ahead of Drake by a mile.

Roy suddenly punched my arm as he leaned forward to get a closer look at the scene below, "They're leaving!"

Alex watched Eddie disappear safely around the corner before heading down her own way, and I stood up.

"They were talking about you, you know. Or, well, Red Hood." Roy said, stretching and popping his joints. "She seemed pretty interested, though she was yelling at Eddie most of the time. Best part of their conversation, in my opinion."

I ignored his comment as I leaped off the rooftop, keeping a sharp eye on Alex. "Hurry up or we'll lose her."

Roy easily kept his pace behind me. "Didn't you say we were gonna scope out the docks for the mercenaries Batman's after? Unless they changed their drop spot, we're missing out on the best fight we've had all day!"

I narrowed my eyes at what I saw below. "I wouldn't worry about that, buddy."

We both stopped at the edge of the roof we'd just landed on. Alex had tripped and fallen forward onto the asphalt, interrupting the fight between Batman and the mercenaries he'd been after.

"_Smoker her_!"

One of the armed men quickly lifted his new, shiny AK-47 and aimed it at Alex's head.

"Shit." Roy hissed, voicing my thought as he swiftly pulled an arrow from his quiver and aimed.

But Alex was much, much faster.

She rolled and jumped onto her feet, flipping over the stream of bullets and kicking the weapon out of the guy's hand. She landed behind him in a crouch and swung her foot out in an arch, gracefully sweeping his feet out from under him.

Everything got real quiet. Even Alex looked shocked at what she'd just done, and she stood up, backing away warily. From my peripherals, I saw Bruce suddenly stare up at me and Arsenal. I resisted the urge to point at Alejandra and shout, _"Hey, Bruce! That's my girl!" _

"Maybe she remembers some of her training after all." Roy muttered after a stunned pause.

The fighting immediately resumed, and Bruce was swiftly taking handfuls of men out while another chunk headed for Alex. She'd made herself a target. Perfect.

"Arsenal!" I ordered, and leaped off the fire escape, landing just as Roy's arrow struck the center of the battlefield and released a thick cloud of cover smoke.

I raised my voice above the coughing, "So how do you want to handle this?" I twirled my favorite Kris blade in my hand and moved around, slicing the straps that held their guns to their chests. "All at once, or do you want me to kick your butts one at a time?"

Someone bumped into me from the back, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Alex backing away from one of the mercenaries. She looked back at me in surprise, "Red Hood!"

"Keep moving!" I said sternly, watching as two more goons found us in the chaos and fixed their eyes on Alejandra. "Make an opening!"

A new look of determination suddenly formed on her face, and I was momentarily brought back to the time when she was younger, when I was training her. I smirked at knowing the results had always been, and would always be, success.

Simultaneously taking out a couple more circulating guys, I kept a close eye on Alex as she charged at the first goon, blocking his fist with her hand and sharply twisting his arm behind his back at an uncomfortable angle. She turned him around, using him as a human shield against the kick from the second goon, and he was quickly rendered unconscious. Alex dropped him and lunged at the second goon. She knocked his arms to the sides and landed a hard kick to his chest, sending him flying back against the brick wall. I finished wiping out the last of my share of criminals, and stood watching as Alex ran, somersaulting in the air and kicking the armed mercenary onto the ground. She landed feet-first on his chest, completely knocking the wind out of him and probably snapping a rib or two.

Still looking pretty shocked and impressed with herself, Alex stepped back and leaned forward on her knees to catch her breath. She caught my eye, and a grin suddenly lit up her face.

It was just like in the good old days.

Alex jogged over to me, throwing her arms up in awe. "That was incredible! I didn't even know I could _do_ all of that! And when you instructed me – it was like some instinct kicked in! And your fighting is, it's _amazing_!"

Roy and Bruce approached us, and both Alejandra and I turned to them at the same time, "Hey, Batman."

Roy suddenly had the biggest grin on his face, and I thought I was going to have to knock him out to prevent him from enveloping Alex in a bear hug.

Batman gazed at me steadily, "No major injuries?"

I snorted, "It takes more than two dozen lousy mercenaries to lay a scratch on me, but I'm gonna go ahead and assume what you're asking me is if I killed any of them." I nodded to the mess of unconscious bodies all around us. "And the answer is no."

"He's a new man, Batman." Arsenal said with an easy grin, but Bruce's face didn't change.

Bruce looked to Alex, "You seemed to manage just fine." It sounded pensive, and faintly suspicious. I kept my posture relaxed.

Alex shrugged, "I guess. _I'm_ still trying to figure out how I'm alive."

"Of course, you wouldn't have _been_ in this situation in the first place if you'd stayed put in your new home." Bruce said calmly, but with an air of firmness in his tone.

Wait, Bruce put Alex in a troubled youths' home? Dick had some explaining to do. And for his sake, he'd have better placed her in a _good_ one, not like the piece of crap I'd unintentionally been thrown into. But I also remembered that when Bruce had gotten me out of the hellhole, he'd made a note to change the sorry circumstances in all of Gotham's youths' homes. Even now, there wasn't anything billionaire Bruce Wayne couldn't fix.

Alejandra rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah, well, first of all it_ is_ a dude ranch, hope Dick told you that, and second, the bed was too soft. Overall it's pretty nice, though. And as for it being filled with boys, I can't help it if there aren't enough rebellious street rats who're girls."

Roy chuckled, "Can't argue with that logic."

Alex drew her attention to him, and the smile returned to her face, "You're Arsenal, right? From Star City."

Roy looked surprisingly calm and at ease as she gripped his outstretched hand, "Glad to make your acquaintance."

I looked to Batman, "So, looks like we were able to help you out with this job after all. Count on us for anything else."

"I appreciate it." It sounded sincere, grateful, and for that brief moment, he was Bruce.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and glued my eyes to Alex, "Great job tonight."

"Thanks," Her grin softened into a smile, "Red Hood."

I turned to walk away, but Roy suddenly held his bow out to stop me. I raised a questioning brow at his firm expression.

Roy suddenly smiled as he looked at Alex warmly, "It was great seeing you again…Alejandra."

All of us froze except for Roy, who remained completely calm. It wasn't a slip, he'd done it on _purpose_.

"I'm going to _kill_ you." I muttered, clenching my jaw.

Alex looked stunned, confused, and frustrated all at the same time. "You know me." It wasn't a question. She and Batman stared at Arsenal, then switched their burning glares directly to me. I watched Alex's eyes, _my_ eyes, glint menacingly in the moonlight. Her whole posture tensed, all traces of friendliness gone. "Who _are_ you?" She demanded.

I glared at Roy. His confidence faltered under my stare, but he remained resolute. "No more weekly updates, _Jason_."

"Jason?" Alex immediately echoed the name.

Roy, unable to handle my silent glare any longer, quickly turned to face Alex. "His name is Jason. Jason Todd. I'm Roy Harper. Jason is – "

"I'm your dad." I ended flatly, it was almost harsh. I turned to look at Alex, whose eyes widened. I felt my stiff expression soften, and I lifted my hands to my head. There was a small hiss as air was released from my helmet, and I pulled it off, knowing she'd see her own eyes looking back at her.

I repeated it more softly, with more meaning, letting it slip into the night, making it official.

"I'm your dad."

**Finally! This moment took too long to get here! :) I didn't really know how to portray Jason's person correctly, and I'm sure I didn't do him justice here, but I guess it helps to keep in mind that he's subject to change (for those of you who read Red Hood and the Outlaws, the most recent issue kinda has to do with that, in a way?). Yeah. And Arsenal is in here! He was easier to portray, but again, I'm not sure I did him justice. Anyway, thanks for reading! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Special thanks to the awesome and funny imaninja41 for inspiration! :D**

_Wayne Manor. Alejandra's POV_

"You KNEW?!"

"Alex – "

"Alex _nothing_! God _dammit_, Dick, you KNEW!" I raised my hands to grab my head, just about ready to tear my hair out. "You – BOTH of you! What the HELL?!"

Dick was looking pretty hurt about my reaction, and that only motivated me to pour _more_ lemon juice onto the cuts. Roy was looking pretty guilty about it all, and he had every reason to be because he was also a part of the whole damn LIE, even if he _had_ been the one to spill it. Bruce – yeah, that's right, BRUCE – had gotten past the initial shock and was looking stern and just about ready to stop my ranting, but there was no way in hell he was going to tell me to stop, even if he _was_ the goddamn _Batman_.

And _Jason_, my _dad_, he was standing there watching it all play out with a tense, grim expression. I didn't deny the fact that he was my dad because, surprisingly, I saw lots of me in him. That only seemed to aggravate me even _more_.

But there was _no way_ in hell I was gonna cry. No tears of anger or sadness or joy or whatever. No way. I was NOT going to _cry_.

"After all these years I _thought_ I was an orphan, it turns out I never was! I had a _family_, a home, everything! And you – " I looked directly at Jason, "you just wiped my memories away and left me." My voice cracked near the end, and I grew only more infuriated with myself. "You have no idea how _frustrating_ it is to look at you and not be able to remember _any of it._ Yeah, you already explained everything, and I get why you did it. But…_why_?" The words were starting to spill out, and I panicked when I realized I couldn't stop them. "I _wanted_ a dad! I used to pretend Dick was that dad!" I threw an arm out to Dick, whose expression softened. "But it was never enough. I _needed_ _**you**_, Jason. I wouldn't have cared that I would be in danger, a target or any of that crap you talked about. You said you trained me, right? I could've been your sidekick! Why didn't you just let me stay with you? Why the HELL didn't you?!" I was practically shouting at the end, but he didn't even flinch.

"Claudia _died_ because of _me_." Jason finally ground out, "I wasn't going to make my own nine-year-old daughter _bait_ by putting her in a cape and cowl and sending her off to her death_ again_." Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Bruce's expression sadden the tiniest bit.

"Well maybe it's better than everything I've been through!" I snapped. I started counting on my fingers, "I died in the car crash, I came back, I was homeless on the streets of Gotham, I got shot in the arm _twice_, didn't die, and after being on _Gotham's_ streets for five years, I'm not _dead_. So have a little faith that your kid's not some helpless little girl who can't take care of herself."

"I know you can."

I spluttered in anger and disbelief, "Then _why_ – "

"Because you're not my sidekick!" His eyes flashed brightly for a moment, but it quickly diminished. His voice came out quietly when he spoke. "You're my daughter."

_Not gonna cry not gonna cry not gonna cry. Goddammit don't cry. _"I can be both." I paused to compose myself a little before adding thickly, "I _want_ to."

Jason opened his mouth to argue, but I beat him to it. "It's the least you can do to make up for taking my memories. Which, apparently, you can't get back." I gave a hard, sour smirk, "You owe me."

"No."

"I'll throw a tantrum."

He scoffed, and I could swear I saw a teasing light in his eye. "Do you know how many of your tantrums I've handled before?"

"That's a rhetorical question, right?"

Roy got up to intervene, "C'mon, Jason. Let her be one of us." He gestured to everyone who was in the room. I was pretty sure even Alfred counted as a hero. "You and I both know for a fact that she can do this. We'll all keep training her and kick it up a notch, and we won't let her out onto the playing field until you see she's ready. And it's just like she said." Roy shoved Jason's shoulder, "You _owe_ her."

I grinned. Okay, so "uncle Roy" was pretty cool. I was still holding a grudge against all of them, though. Sort of.

"She's not going to let it go, Jason." Dick said, smiling knowingly in my direction. "Alex doesn't take 'no' for an answer. You've always known that."

Jason looked from Roy to Dick, then to me, and finally to Bruce. A secret conversation seemed to go on between the two of them. And when Jason finally looked away in slight annoyance, I got the feeling that they were gonna have a talk later.

Jason looked at me again, and I crossed my arms over my chest challengingly.

There was a long silence, and I felt some of my confidence start to falter, but I refused to let him see my panic.

"Welcome back." He finally whispered, his eyes glowing warmly. He meant it. He really, actually, seriously, _meant_ it. I was going to be an awesome, kick-ass sidekick with awesome bad-ass mentors. Could it get any more epic?

And when Jason grabbed me in a tight hug, I found I couldn't let go. I was probably never going to let go. Just like I was probably never going to stop being a big, giant, crybaby.

And just for the record, I fail epically at holding grudges. (Obviously)


	9. Chapter 9

The bed from the troubled youths' home was a piece of cardboard compared to the one in my new room. And "room" was _way_ too much of an understatement. The place was so huge, I could probably get lost in the closet - if it had clothes in it.

"Shopping?" I scoffed, "Not really my thing."

"I know it's kind of a new thing for you, but you can't wear the same clothes for the rest of your life." Jason stated matter-of-factly.

"There's a Laundromat down the street that can say otherwise." I tugged at my plain, baggy t-shirt.

"Look, I get you. But legally, you're signed up as Bruce Wayne's adopted daughter, because I'm legally dead. And that would look a little weird to the government."

"And John Doe can't afford to adopt a kid, right?" I smirked at his fake citizen name.

He smiled wryly, "Right. And that means you're a Wayne, which means – "

"That technically I'm your sister? That's crazy cool." I laughed.

"Well, yeah. But it also means that you have to make a good image."

"Because you're all a family of vigilantes and no one can know, I get it, I get it." I rolled my eyes, "Jeez. I'm not totally ignorant, you know."

"Glad you cleared that up for me."

I glared at him warningly, "Just no dresses."

Jason scrunched his face up in mock pity, "Oooh, afraid I can't help you with that, kid. Bruce Wayne is renowned for his galas. And since he adopted you…" He grinned evilly, and it really _was_ like he was my older brother more than my dad.

"Whatever. I'm going in my pajamas."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Going to the mall was supposed to be Jason's and my first "father-daughter experience", but when we got back to the mansion with a whole bunch of t-shirts and jeans and converse and boxers as my pajamas, Dick called up someone named 'Barbara' and ushered me and Jason back into the Ferrari. Even uncle Roy agreed to tag along.

"Can't we get into the Lamborghini?" I begged, gluing my eyes to the sleek, silver beauty. "It's _so_ much faster than the Ferrari."

"Thank God you haven't forgotten how to speak Car and Driver." Roy grinned.

Jason gave Dick a look, "Told you."

"If I let you drive it you're just going to go way over the speed limit." Dick said wearily, like he'd explained this to a child a million times before. He paused and then added, "Again."

Jason rolled his eyes, "That's what it was _made_ for, Golden Boy."

"You guys have a _Lamborghini_," I began, leaning forward between the two front seats, "And you rarely let it leave the _garage_? Is this part of the whole 'image' and 'keeping the secret identity' thing? Because if that's the case, then there's no point in me wearing any of the dresses you're forcing me to get."

Jason snickered, and Dick smoothly steered the car out and onto the road. "You need to _look_ like Bruce Wayne's newly adopted daughter. Not all the time," He added just as I opened my mouth to protest, "But at least for the gala tonight."

I slumped back into the backseat, strapping my seatbelt on. "Why does Bruce throw so many parties?" I muttered.

"They're not for entertainment." Jason explained, "He uses them as a distraction so he can suit up as Batman. It's for serious situations only, though."

I blinked in disbelief, "So while Grandpa Bats is out kicking ass, I'm going to be stuck in a party with a _dress_ on? How is that _justice_?!"

"She sounds just like Claudia." Roy mused beside me. Jason smiled in response.

The rest of the car ride was great. I didn't know if it was because the past me already felt natural around these guys, or that they were just awesome people to be around. My guess was that it was both reasons.

We arrived at the mall (again) and it was funny how every young woman stopped whatever it was they did to bat their eyelashes at dad, Dick, and Roy. A lady in heels walked by, giving Dick a flirtatious wink. Dick gave a dazzling smile, and I busted into laughter when she nearly tripped over herself.

Dick turned his head and smiled as he raised a brow at me. "I thought you were used to that by now."

"Yeah. But that doesn't mean it stops getting funny." I snorted, smirking again.

"It's not gonna be so funny when _you're_ the one walking in heels." Roy mocked, bumping his shoulder against mine.

"Like hell I'm buying heels. I'm gonna wear the new shoes that Jason got me."

"Converse don't count as party shoes." Dick said, rolling his eyes at Jason.

"Calm down, diva. Damian wore a nice red pair for a gala once." Jason waved his hand dismissively.

"Hey, when can we get something good to eat?" I asked, all of the steamy food smells making my mouth water.

"After we get this over with."

We all stopped and blinked in surprise as a pretty redhead got up from her table and walked over to us.

I could swear I saw Dick light up like a light bulb. Now _that_ was something I wasn't used to seeing. "Hey, Babs."

"I thought you were joking when you told me," Barbara – apparently – said. She scrutinized me for a few seconds before smiling wryly. "You look like him."

"Unfortunately." I grinned back at Jason.

"Hey, Dick isn't the only one who can get a lady's attention."

Roy tauntingly elbowed Jason with a smirk, "And you always say Dick is the dog."

"Can't you _ever_ keep your mouth shut, Harper?"

"You really still call me that?"

"Hey, West started it. And frankly, it fits you."

I raised a brow at them before turning to Barbara, "Uhhh…?"

She totally read my unsaid question and smiled, "So Bruce is having a gala tonight, right?" We both walked beside each other as the three continued to bicker behind us.

"Yeah. So…are you some kind of shopping expert?" I asked, unable to keep the distaste from my tone.

Barbara choked a snort, "No way. I don't even know why Dick called me for this. I'm not at all helpful when it comes to clothes shopping."

I shrugged and shoved my hands into my pockets. "If it makes you feel any better, I've never even _been_ shopping."

She smiled ahead. "Do you have an idea of what type of dress you want to wear?"

"I don't _want_ to. But nothing frilly, and God forbid anything _pink_." I gagged. Seriously. Who in their right mind would ever invent the color _pink_?

Barbara laughed, "You just made my day a whole lot easier, Alex."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Around the _whole_ manor? You're joking, right?"

"Consider it the first part of your training." Jason said as he sat at the kitchen island, polishing his Red Hood helmet. Roy was plopped comfortably on the sofa in the next room, watching Nascar on the High Definition flat screen TV and shoving popcorn in his face. I really wanted to join him. And waffles would make it so much better!

"How is learning to walk in heels going to help me fight crime?" I demanded.

"You'd be surprised."

"Very helpful, Jason."

Bruce walked into the kitchen, and stopped to raise a questioning eyebrow at me standing awkwardly in the silver heels. Jason snorted a laugh at his expression, and Bruce gave a small smile of amusement.

After the private talk they'd had concerning me becoming a part of the family, Bruce and Jason had eased up around each other, and I'd known it was all going to be okay. Besides, Bruce really liked having me around. He even congratulated me on the whole Batmobile thing and on my "vast knowledge of cars."

Also, after Roy told me the history of Bruce and Jason's past issues, it was nice seeing my dad accepting his dad. It kind of influenced me to do the same. But I still had some difficulty calling Jason "dad", so I just called him Jason, and he was totally okay with that.

"Thanks so much for throwing a gala in my honor, Bruce." I said dryly, "Best idea ever."

"I'm very glad to hear you say that, Alex." Bruce smiled, "How's your 'training' going along?"

"Working on it." I took a couple steady steps forward. Thankfully, these weren't super high stilettoes, so I wouldn't trip and fall and break my leg and end up in a cast for six weeks. But considering my poor skills, it could still happen.

I made it to the very front entrance of the manor, stumbling a little here and there, but I was still intact.

"I made it to the front!" I shouted victoriously back to Jason and Bruce.

There was a loud bark from upstairs, followed immediately by the sound of nails scurrying frantically across the mansion floor.

Crap.

The Great Dane/German Shepherd darted like a bullet down the grand staircase and charged right at me, letting out another excited bark.

"Titus!" I yelped, and I stumbled backward just as Titus got on his hind feet and rested his giant forepaws on my shoulders. He knocked me down onto my back, his entire weight knocking the wind out of my lungs.

"Holy crap why do you WEIGH so much?! I wheezed, pushing myself into a sitting position. Titus made a gruff noise and wagged his tail before scampering off and running circles around the wide room.

"Thanks, pal!" I said, kicking the death-trap heels off. "You're a real help."

Titus and I got along right from the beginning, when he'd tackled me in the exact same way. Sure, I knew he was Damian Wayne's loyal dog, but it was great knowing I was already best friends with Boy Wonder's mascot without him knowing. And from what everyone's told me about Damian, I just knew he was going to be irritated with me. And I was totally looking forward to that.

I got up just as the doorbell rang impatiently, and was about to go and open it when Alfred appeared almost out of nowhere.

"I'll get it, Miss Alex." He assured as he walked past me.

"Jeez, how do you always _do_ that, Alfred?" I bent down to pick my shoes up, "How do _all_ of you Bats do that? It's starting to creep me out."

Alfred smiled back at me, "I'm afraid that's a trick you've yet to learn, Miss Alex."

The damn annoying doorbell finally stopped ringing, and the doors burst open before Alfred even laid a hand on the knob.

Alfred took a slight step back in surprise, and then smiled warmly. "Good afternoon, Master Damian. So glad to have you back home."

_Well whaddya know._

Damian stormed in with a scowl on his face, "What's this nonsense about Todd having a secret _daughter_?"

A leaner, older boy walked in behind him. He narrowed his eyes at Damian in annoyance, "Remember the phone call, Damian? Bruce said – "

"I'm well aware of what my father ordered, Drake." Damian snorted, rolling his eyes. "I don't need _you_ to repeat it to me."

Tim's eyebrow twitched, and I could tell right away that these two were not the best of brothers.

I looked to Titus, who'd paused to stand beside me. "Is it always like this?"

Titus made a gruff noise, and I took it as a confirmation. I grinned, "Thought so."

Damian whirled his head to look at me before looking back at Alfred, "Is that her?"

I snorted. "Yeah. Todd's secret daughter, in the flesh."

"We've heard a lot about you, Alex." Tim said with a friendly smile. He held his hand out to shake, and I took it. "Welcome to the family."

I grinned, "Thanks, Drake."

He raised a brow, "Do you call everyone by their last name?"

"Nope."

His mouth twitched in a wry smile, "Good to know where we stand."

Bruce, Jason, and Roy joined the reunion. Bruce looked at his two sons and smiled, "Looks like you three are off to a good start."

"Hold it!" Damian interrupted, and I heard Jason mutter, "Here we go," behind me.

"Looks like you spoke too soon, Bruce." Roy said, stifling a laugh.

"Hey there, little brother." I said mockingly, "_I've_ heard a lot about _you_."

"Do not call me that." He threatened.

I shrugged, "It's true. Didn't Bruce tell you that, legally, I'm his newly adopted daughter?"

"I'm well aware of my father's ridiculous decision," Damian said, irritated, "Just as _you_ should be aware that I've been trained by the League of Assassins. And in case you don't know what that is – "

"I know what it is!" I snapped impatiently. Jeez, so much for being able to handle the little twerp.

He smirked, satisfied at having had irritated me so quickly. "At least you have _some_ knowledge of our world. That means you won't be rendered _entirely_ useless to us, _Todd_."

I looked to Titus wearily and thumbed to Damian, "Is _he_ always like this?"

Titus wagged his tail, and I took it as a confirmation. Oh joy.


	10. Chapter 10

**First of all, I want to apologize to TheDarkSideOfPercyJackson for not updating sooner! I'm really sorry, especially since you motivate me so much with your comments. You're amazing! **

**Also, imaninja41, thanks for the Nascar inspiration! I'll be putting more of that throughout the story, and Alex will love it :D And yes, Titus is the awesomest! (Unfortunately, I forgot to put him in here, but he'll definitely be in the rest of the story :D )**

**Huge potter fan, your little comment inspired the Tim, Damian, and Alex stuff I threw in here, so I hope you'll like it! And there's also more about the high heels, which I hope you will also agree with!**

**Ahaha, okay, thanks for reading this guys! :)**

"It's not _my_ fault you turn into a crippled every time you walk in heels."

"You tripped me!"

"That is a completely invalid accusation."

"Invalid my ass! I saw your foot move the _very_ second before I 'tripped.'"

"Like I said: an _invalid_ accusation. You know what 'invalid' means, don't you?"

"I'm bilingual. That means I can speak and understand both Spanish _and_ English. Fluently. Quit being such an ass, Wayne."

"I'm multilingual. That means I can speak more languages than you can count on _both_ hands. Fluently. Quit trying to surpass me, Todd."

"Why don't you just quit _talking_?!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air.

Tim's voice was muffled by his arm as he held his head in exhausted aggravation, "Please, please, _please_ make it stop." He groaned to the ceiling.

Damian snorted, and I turned to look at Tim moping over the kitchen island. "I don't see why _you're_ complaining, Tim. _I'm_ the one who's in the dress and heels practically waiting for Damian over here to send me to a hospital."

"What are you talking about? You can do that perfectly fine on your own." Tim looked up at me with a wry smile on his face.

"Finally something we agree on, Drake." Damian said satisfactorily.

"Glad to be the subject of your brotherly bonding, guys."

Dick walked into the kitchen and grinned at all of us, "Hey! You're all alive!"

"Are you sure? It _feels_ like I'm in hell." Tim contradicted lightly.

"And I was just about to reach for the kitchen knives." I put on a disappointed face.

"_I'm_ the one with the paraphernalia here, Todd. You have been warned."

"I'm taller than you. You've noticed that, right?"

"Those heels will only bring you to your doom."

I raised a brow, "That's some pretty dark stuff."

Tim rolled his eyes. He looked to Dick, "What took you so long?"

"Billionaire Bruce Wayne's oldest son has to looks his best. Anyway, the guests are all here, you are all suited up, Alex tripped but didn't break any vital limbs – "

"No thanks to birdbrain over here." I added sourly. Damian smiled smugly.

" –Bruce is ready and waiting to deliver his speech, so Alex you're up first." Dick thumbed behind him to the door. "Don't trip."

"Wait, where's Jason?" I frowned. I hadn't seen him in the past couple of hours. Or Roy, for that matter.

"Jason left."

There must have been something in my expression that made Dick quickly rephrase his answer. "He left the Manor for a while. He didn't want to hang around the Manor because, you know, he's supposed to be nonexistent. Besides, Jason's always hated galas. With a passion."

I snorted, but my spiking panic of yet again being abandoned by my d- Jason immediately diminished. "So what he basically meant was 'no way in hell am I putting on a monkey suit.'"

"Yeah, that's just about right." Dick chuckled.

"That's totally unfair. I thought you guys were all about justice!"

"Jason's usually the exception." Tim commented.

"Well if that's the case, then I won't – "

"Too late, Bruce is calling you!" And with that said, Dick ushered me out of the kitchen and out onto the top of the staircase that led down into the front entrance of the manor, which was totally swarming with people. And cameras. Lots and lots of cameras.

Gulp.

"And here she is." Bruce's voice rang out charmingly to the guests as he rested a hand on my shoulder. "Everyone: Alejandra Mae Wayne."

Everyone clapped and there were some accompanying whistles and I couldn't help but glare menacingly at the rapidly flashing cameras.

Dick, Tim, and Damian joined us to pose at the top of the staircase, and Dick lightly nudged me as he flashed his winning smirk at the cameras, which started going crazy. "C'mon, Alex. Give them one teeny tiny smile. You have to make a convincing image, remember?"

"Isn't that what the dress was for?" By the way, the one Barbara helped me pick out wasn't that all that bad. It was a soft red (yeah, what a surprise there, huh?), was strapless, and went just below my knees in flowing layers. And Alfred, with his impeccable taste, made me wear the gold heels that had thin straps instead of the silver ones I was totally getting the hang of walking in. My dark hair was slightly curled and hung past my shoulder blades, but I did _not_ wear earrings. I let everyone get me into heels, a dress, my hair out of its usual messed-up ponytail, and even a teeny touch of _makeup _on my face, but getting holes punched into my ears was where I finally drew the damned line.

Dick saw me pouting and he added nonchalantly, "Would it help if I told you Eddie's here?"

The image of _Eddie_ with his shaggy hair and a tux and a _tie_ had me bursting into almost uncontrollable laughter, and if it weren't because we were in public, I would have rolled down the stairs to land in a heaping pile of wheezing laughter on the floor.

"Why are you _laughing_?" Damian demanded, staring at me like I'd just grown a third eyeball or something.

"Nothing." I chuckled. I kept the natural grin on my face as I scanned the mass of people in search of the familiar face that I hadn't seen in a while, but the flashing lights of the cameras pretty much blinded me.

"Her boyfriend's here." Tim said to Damian with a smirk. I threw them a quick glare.

Damian smirked as well, and all three of those guys really did look like the legitimate sons of Bruce Wayne. Even Jason had a killer smirk. Hmm, I really had to practice that if I wanted to fit in.

"Todd? A boyfriend? It appears that I finally have blackmailing material."

"Nate's here, too." Dick informed Tim and Damian under his breath. "And get this, he's best friends with Eddie."

"You don't say." Tim mused.

"Are you gossiping?" Bruce finally intervened, turning his head and raising his brows at them.

"It's more of an investigation, father. Confidential."

"Oh, shut up." I scowled at Damian, "Eddie is _not_ my boyfriend."

"So Nate is the poor, unfortunate soul, then?"

"Me punching your face would look fantastic on the front page of the Gotham Gazette, don't you think?"

"You should have it enlarged." Tim suggested helpfully. Dick coughed a laugh and shook his head.

"Alejandra, would you like to make a speech for your guests?" Bruce interrupted our little bickering.

I froze as all eyes rested on me, and I swallowed audibly. "Uhh…well, I want to thank Bruce Wayne for making me a part of his family. I always heard he had a habit of adopting orphans. Like, a _lot_ of orphans," There were a few chuckles at that, "but I never thought I'd be one of them. But I am, so," I shrugged and grinned widely at Bruce, "now he has to deal with it. And so do my _brothers _here which, by the way, are the greatest guys ever." I reached out and heavily mussed Damian's hair with my hand, and everyone laughed heartily and clapped again. Even Bruce cracked a smile.

"Nice." Dick approved with his own smile as he clapped.

"It was hardly a _speech_." Damian grumbled, putting a hand on his ruined hair. I grinned at him.

Bruce addressed the gala again, "There you are, ladies and gentlemen. Alejandra Wayne." There were more claps and flashing cameras. "Welcome to the family." Bruce said warmly.

'Thanks. Gramps." I smiled wryly.

Everyone dispersed and began chatting and laughing and the music filled the whole manor, and I continued my search for Eddie and Nate.

I spotted the back of Nate's dark blond head first, and I tried not to get past all the people who threw a few congrats and welcomes my way. I smiled and nodded my head at all of them and returned a comment or whatever, and I finally reached Nate, grabbing his arm with a grin. "Nate!"

He turned around in surprise and grinned when he saw me, "Alex! I haven't seen you since, you know, you escaped from the youth's home." He smiled wryly, "Madeline says hi."

I chuckled sheepishly, "Let her know I returned the greeting."

"Dick invited me, I hope that's okay." Nate handed me a cup, "You want some?"

I raised a brow as I peeked into the cup, "Water?"

"It's refreshing." He assured teasingly.

I shrugged and accepted the water, "Can't argue with that."

"Really? Heels? Wait, what's that on your face? Holy – is that _makeup_?"

I spluttered and choked on my water, turning to gawk at Eddie standing beside Nate. My retort got caught in my throat as I broke into choking laughter at the sight of him, "You got a - Ahahaha! You got a _haircut_!"

"Hey, it's better than everything _you've_ done to it." Eddie teased, running a hand through his short, tousled hair. "Dick paid. And I kinda like it."

"It really brings out your eyes." Nate approved dryly.

"Aw shucks."

I snorted, "Do you guys need me to leave?"

"Oh no you don't." Eddie pointed accusingly at me, "You abandoned me for over two days. We need to make up for lost time, Miss _Wayne_." He suddenly smiled, his dark eyes laughing. Yeah, okay, I missed that face.

Nate coughed into his fist and he started moving away, "I'll leave you two alone."

I was confused. "Nate, where are you – ?" Eddie took my hand and before I knew it, he'd pulled me out onto the middle of the room. For a dance.

_Oh crap oh crap oh crap._ I tried to scramble away, but Eddie's free hand rested on my waist and he pulled me closer, smoothly moving us further into the crowd of swaying couples.

"What the hell! Dammit, Eddie! You know I can't _dance_!" I looked around in paranoia, expecting people to start laughing and pointing at me at any moment. This was totally going to ruin my 'perfect' façade of a Wayne. How embarrassing.

"Yeah, well I _can_." Eddie smiled as he gently moved us into the rhythm of the music.

"So? I don't – " I stopped and turned to look at him with a raised brow, "Wait. Since when do _you_ know how to dance?"

"Well, after Dick told me _Bruce Wayne_ adopted you, he said it was a good idea that I start learning how to dance. Now I know why." He looked around at the extravagantness of everything and nodded. "Thankfully, Carina was free, so she was the one who – "

I jerked away from him, "_What_! You danced with _Carina_?"

He sighed, "Will you please calm down? You'll trip or something." I scowled, but let him continue. "Like I was saying, it was just her way of thanking me for helping her out with her brother last time."

I rolled my eyes at him, "Oh yeah, giving you dance lessons is a real thank-you, isn't it?"

Eddie laughed, "Jealous, are we?"

"Don't flatter yourself, lover boy."

"Sorry. It's the new haircut talking. Plus, your new look is making me nervous." He paused and his expression gentled, "In the good way, though."

I ignored the sudden pounding of my heart and said sarcastically, "Hey, wasn't _my_ bright idea. And this is not my new look. My closet has jeans, t-shirts, sweats, sneakers, and the embarrassing number of dresses I was forced to get will forever remain a mystery, okay?"

He chuckled, but it rang with relief. Even his posture relaxed a little. I guess he'd thought I'd changed overnight or something. I was really glad I didn't, too.

"Not bad." I finally said, impressed. "Carina's a good teacher."

"I missed you." He said softly, "A lot."

I choked on a step and somehow tripped over my own ankle, totally ruining the graceful atmosphere he'd created for us.

Eddie laughed as he firmly steadied me, "Really? You couldn't just wear flats?"

"Like I said, it wasn't _my_ genius idea." I mumbled, flustered.

"At least you gained an inch." He piped up.

I grinned, "But you're still freakishly taller than I am. Just like Dick and J- Tim. They're almost over six feet, like you." Phew. Close call. Speaking of Dick, I spotted him and Bruce talking, wearing equally serious expressions on their faces. Tim casually passed by them, and Bruce uttered something short to him before disappearing into one of the hallways. Dick nodded to Tim, and they walked off in opposite directions.

Interesting.

"And what are you, short stuff? Like five foot five? Five foot _six_, counting the death traps you're wearing on your feet."

"Yeah, they're killing me!" I blurted, and silently scolded myself for sounding so obviously weird. _C'mon, Alex, act natural! Be a Bat!_ "Uh, I think I'm gonna go change into a cozy pair of sneakers." I pulled away from Eddie's embrace and backed away, thumbing to the staircase, "It'll only take a second, I'll be back!" I turned and accidentally slammed into Nate.

He steadied me as I tipped off balance, "Whoa, are you okay?"

"I'm great!" I craned my neck to the staircase to see Damian smoothly striding up the steps, undoing his bowtie. Oh yeah, something was definitely going on tonight. And there was no way I was gonna be left out of it.

Nate rubbed the back of his head a bit nervously, "Okay, I was just going to ask if you would like to dance with me– "

"Ah, I can't! I mean, I would like to, but I have to go change into something that won't send me to a hospital," I pointed down at my heels, "I hope that's okay? I'll be back! You two, uh, keep each other company!" I rushed past Nate and made my way to the staircase. That was when I discovered I could _sprint_ in heels, but I couldn't even _walk_ in them. Seriously, where was the logic in that?

I did a quick perimeter check, but there was no sign of Bruce, Dick, Tim, or Damian. They'd just vanished. Unless…

I strode into the den where the grandfather clock was and turned the hands on it to the correct time, grinning triumphantly when it slid aside to let me into the manor's inner sanctum.

The Batcave.

I kicked my heels off and threw them into a corner of the den before making my way down the stairs. Bruce had already given me a tour and showed me every nook and cranny of the Cave, and believe me when I say it was full of clichés. Revolving walls, secret levers, hidden buttons, you name it. It was insanely awesome.

I reached the cool floor and saw the Batmobile was gone. Dammit, I'd just missed them. Sighing, I walked along the deserted Cave, and slowed to a stop in front of the glass case.

I knew the whole story. Dick had told it to me, then Tim did, Damian had shared his own thoughts, and Bruce had narrated every detail from his point of view. But I hadn't had the chance to ask the most important person of all: Jason. Maybe, though, I didn't need to. Maybe he'd already told me, somehow, before the whole car incident and wiping my memory thing, which would explain why I hadn't been surprised when everyone told me. If anything, I felt pride, admiration, sadness, and anger all over again.

I gazed at the Robin suit, imagining a younger Jason in it, and then I imagined him with a younger version of my mom. I couldn't help but grin at that.

"Pardon my interruption, Miss Alex."

I nearly flew out of my skin. I whirled around and practically shouted out the top of my lungs, "Holy – you scared the _crap_ out of me, Alfred!"

Alfred's cool composure didn't change, "I apologize again, Miss Alex, and please try not to awaken the bats."

"Right. Sorry." I glanced a peek up at the dozens of house pets and saw them settling down again after my short outburst.

"I noticed your absence from the two gentlemen Eddie and Nate, and assumed you had come down here." He smiled knowingly, "I believe you wanted to join in the real action, am I correct, Miss Alex?"

"You are correct, Sir Alfred." I grinned, then glanced back at Jason's small memorial.

Alfred cleared his throat and said gently, "You know, Miss Alex, I am known to be very handy when it comes to repairing or altering a suit. And I'm not just referring to tuxedos."

There was a pause, then: "Alfred, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I believe so, Miss Alex. May I recommend having a touch of red on it? As a symbol of who you are, what you stand for."

"To tell you the truth, Alfred, I've been tossing a name around in my head from the very moment I stepped into this giant piece of Gothic architecture."

His eyes twinkled, "Might I hear it?"

"This? This right here?" I gestured to the Batcave with my arms spread out, "This is my beginning. And the best symbol I could come up with to stand for that, was dawn."

"Very nice, Miss Alex."

"I'm not done yet, Alfred."

"Please, continue."

I smiled at him before facing the glass case again. "And as for _who_ I am? A touch of red would be perfect."

"_Red_ Dawn, then, Miss Alex?"

"Red Dawn it is, Sir Alfred."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sooooooooooooooo sorry that I've neglected this for so long. Too long. I tend to get very lazy. Anyway, here's the next chapter! :D**

_Gotham City Docks. 10:15 PM_

"There've been a lot of shipments going on lately. More so than usual." Nightwing commented. He finished tying up his round of unconscious goons and tossed them to the side.

"Think it's some kind of distraction?" Red Robin asked, leaning against a giant empty crate, "To throw us off whatever the real plan is?"

"Pretty much. All we have to do is figure out what that plan is exactly, and who the one hiding behind all this is." Nightwing threw a smile his way, "Shouldn't be too much of a challenge for you, right?"

"Piece of cake."

Damian suddenly radioed in, "Nightwing. Father and I just returned to the Manor. There is no sign of Todd's daughter anywhere."

"She's probably just with Eddie." Red Robin suggested, "Or Nate. Or both." Nightwing smirked.

"Did you not hear a word of what I just said, Drake?" Damian said irritably, "I told you there's no sign of Todd junior anywhere. That clearly implies that I've interrogated both of her _suitors,_ and found it's been approximately an hour since either of them last saw her. It would suit you well to pay attention, _Drake_."

Tim had been closing his eyes and holding his folded hands patiently up to his mouth. When Damian finished, he let out a heavy sigh and gave Dick a grim 'please shoot me' look before putting his cowl on again.

Nightwing smiled and addressed Damian, "What else did Eddie and Nate tell you?"

"That she left in a rush. I hadn't assumed Todd would have any plans of her own." Damian snorted.

Nightwing pulled out his grappling hook, "Tell Bruce we're finished cleaning up here. We'll be on the lookout for Alex."

"Fine." He radioed out, and Red Robin raised a questioning brow at Nightwing, "Is it just me, or has he been more irritating than usual lately?"

"Actually, I've noticed that, too." The two of them launched their grappling hooks and swung off the docks. They landed on top of an abandoned warehouse and continued walking. Nightwing looked thoughtful, "I'm guessing he's just feeling a little…annoyed at the idea of having a new member in the family."

"That makes sense, considering you're the only one out of all of us he actually gets along with."

Nightwing chuckled, "I'm pretty sure that's common among all siblings, even the ordinary ones."

"Yeah well, we're anything _but_ ordinary." Red Robin joked.

"You said it." They continued to walk in peaceful silence.

Red Robin raised a brow at Nightwing, "You know Jason's going to flip when he finds out we lost his kid."

"Relax. I've been tracking Alex all over Gotham for the past five years. Just follow the sound of chaos and she'll be there."

Silence. "I don't hear anything." Red Robin finally said.

"I know. Stop freaking me out." They swung off into the night.

0o0o0o0o

_Alejandra's POV_

Could anyone feel more badass than _this_?

I stood on the rooftop of some random, faded building. The view of the nighttime polluted city was breathtaking, and the warm breeze blew back my now-back-to-normal-and-loose-hair. For my own sake, I hoped I looked as awesome and dramatically cool as I felt. Otherwise, this would end up just as embarrassing as wearing the high heels.

Alfred said the suit was a "rough sketch", and that he'd probably be making some appropriate alterations to it in the future, but I loved it. It was pretty much a replica of Jason's suit [red hood and the outlaws design] in terms of protection, but Alfred had given it a touch of my own taste. For starters, it was a darker gray for better camouflage and was streaked with a fine line of red down the sides of my arms, torso, legs, and my motorcycle boots had red laces. I wore the traditional Bat costume gauntlets, my cowl was red, and the Bat symbol on the front was a rich red that stood out really well.

Alfred had made sure that I really wanted to wear the logo, that I was willing to be _responsible_ enough to wear it, to carry the burden and all that serious stuff blah blah blah. I understood every bit of what he was telling me, and I accepted it all.

I chose this costume because I knew that no matter how dangerously close to the line I would be pushed to, I wouldn't cross it. Sure, Jason was pretty much perfectly balanced between that fragile line of justice and injustice, but that wasn't something everyone could handle as easily and well as Jason, and Roy. I knew for a fact that I couldn't do that without causing some serious damage, so I'll be sticking to one side of the line, just to play it safe.

I chose this costume because whenever I do something right, it'll be traced back to Batman and any and everyone who bears the meaning of this symbol…including Jason. Because this was basically his costume, too, and every time I do something right, it'll be traced back to _him_. I'll be secretly clearing his name, whether anyone realizes it or not. This costume was already tarnished, and it's my silent duty as his daughter to fix it, to give him a new beginning, too.

Thus, Red Dawn was born.

Grinning at my own cheesiness, I pulled out my grappling hook and headed out for the streets of Gotham.

And yeah, I remembered our deal: I wasn't allowed out onto the "playing field", as Roy had put it, until Jason felt I was ready to handle everything Gotham would throw at me.

But haven't I been doing that my whole life already?

Besides, all of my old training came easily to me. I hadn't even known I knew how to _use_ a grappling hook and swing through the air! I may not remember anything from my life with Jason because of the whole wiping my memory and stuff, but the training? For some reason, that stuck with me this whole time.

I was so going to get grounded when I got back home.

0o0o0o0o

_Wayne Manor. 10:26 PM_

Eddie undid his tie as he and Nate walked out past the gates of the Manor, where the party was still going on.

"So, what did you think?" Nate asked.

"I think," Eddie crumpled his tie and stuffed it in his pants pocket. He shrugged the jacket of the tux off and draped it over his shoulder, "that I don't like wearing fancy suits."

Nate grinned, "All of the ladies back there seemed to like it."

"Well, we did look pretty sharp. And my haircut gave me bonus points. Even though Alex laughed at it." He chuckled.

"She looked pretty happy to see you." Nate had seen the ways Alex's eyes shone every time she was around Eddie, and he remembered how she'd turned him down for a dance. The truth was, he'd always had a "small" crush on Alex since Elementary. But there was no way he'd ever tell her, or do anything to try to get her to like him back. Not when he knew that Eddie _liked_ Alex. A lot.

The day Eddie had confessed it to him about a year ago, after the whole thing with Carina, Nate had given up all hopes of ever being something other than a friend to Alex. He didn't want to mess anything up for the guy who was practically his brother. He wanted Eddie to be happy with Alex, and Nate knew Alex would be happy with Eddie. He would just remain their friend, and Nate was perfectly okay with that.

"Yeah. I missed her." Eddie admitted a bit sheepishly, "I'm not used to _not_ having her around. It's weird. But peaceful at the same time." He grinned mockingly. "I think I even regained some of my hearing in my right ear."

"That's good to hear." They both laughed.

"But I guess I won't be seeing her as often anymore." Eddie said thoughtfully, "She has a family now. A pretty big one, at that." He shook his head, impressed, "The Waynes, huh?"

"Yeah." Nate agreed, "Doesn't that mean she and Dick are family now?"

Eddie barked a laugh, "It does! That must be entertaining. And nice. Alex always saw Dick as a dad, or something close to that. I did, too."

"Her little brother is kind of intimidating, though." Nate added wryly.

Eddie grinned, "I think he's _adorable_. What did he call us again? Alex's 'suitors', right?" He laughed.

"The way he was interrogating us made me feel like I was an accomplice in a crime or something." Nate joked.

"Where _do_ you think Alex disappeared to?" Eddie finally asked after a pause.

"I have no idea." Nate answered honestly.

"Now that I think about it, didn't the whole family vanish from the party right before Alex ran off?" Eddie frowned as he started to put the clues together. "I don't remember seeing any of them for a while after that, until Bruce Wayne and Damian reappeared a while ago."

"The whole place was crowded with a lot of people. Maybe you just didn't see them walking around?" Nate suggested.

Eddie shook his head, "I don't know. Maybe. But it's kind of strange, isn't it?" They made it onto the Robert Kane Memorial Bridge and crossed it back onto the Island. "And how Alex was in a rush? Just to change her shoes? It doesn't take someone over an hour to change into a pair of sneakers." Eddie snorted. "Then she just vanished like the rest of them. Tell me that's not suspicious."

"You've always had an eye for these things, Eddie." Nate said, somewhat impressed. "I didn't even notice any of that until you mentioned it."

"I picked it up from Alex." Eddie said, giving in to a small smirk. "Now I get to use her own skills against her."

They continued walking into the city, and just as they were about to make a turn around a corner, someone leaped out and snagged Nate, putting him in a chokehold and holding a gun to his head. "Don't move!"

Eddie froze mid-step, and turned around to see a grim-looking Nate held in place by a masked thug. Eddie held his hands up calmly, "Okay. Fine. But I gotta tell you, we're broke poor. I built my own mansion out of cardboard."

The masked man snickered, "Yeah right, punk. Your fancy suits say otherwise. Search him!"

Eddie sensed someone creeping up from behind him, and he spun around to smash his elbow into the side of the second guy's face, knocking him down. Eddie ducked just as a bullet from Nate's captor whizzed over his head, and he turned around in alarm.

A small flash of red suddenly caught his eye, and another shot went off, but it missed him and hit the brick wall instead.

Eddie watched with wide eyes as a dark figure landed in a silent crouch between him and the thug still keeping Nate in a chokehold.

"Who the hell are you?" The thug demanded, his own eyes widening, but with fear. He pointed the gun at the figure – _a girl_, Eddie realized.

Instead of replying, she swiftly straightened up from her crouch and flipped into the air, dodging the bullets he fired frantically up at her, and landed behind him. She jammed her elbow into the back of his neck, causing him to yelp and drop the gun. Nate stumbled free, and the girl roughly kicked the thug forward and bent his elbow at a painfully awkward position behind his back, causing him to shout. She pulled a pair of batcuffs out from her utility belt and swiftly cuffed him to the streetlight pole. And she'd it all in four seconds flat.

Both Eddie and Nate gawked.

Hearing a grunt and a click behind them, all three teens turned around to see the second thug had recovered and was ready to shoot at the mysterious vigilante.

She quickly placed her forearm up in front of her face, and the bullet bounced right off her gauntlet. There was a beat of silence, and then she smirked at the thug. She lunged and rammed him back into the brick wall, knocking him unconscious and letting him sink to the ground.

"Wow." Nate finally said, blinking in stunned surprise. "Uh, thanks." She gave him a small smile and proceeded to cuff the unconscious thug.

Eddie studied the vigilante hard. She seemed _very_ familiar…

"What did you say your name was?" Eddie questioned.

The girl straightened up and turned to face him and Nate. They both saw the bat symbol on her costume, and turned slightly surprised.

"Red Dawn." They blinked, and she was gone.

"Holy shit." Eddie finally said, staring after her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks so much for the comments/reviews so far! =D Because of them, here's the next chapter! And just because I feel like I'm always taking too long to upload this story, I tried to make this chapter a sort of lengthy one : ) **

That was close. _Way_ too close. For all I knew, Eddie could've already figured out who _Red Dawn_ was! And if Eddie actually _did_ figure that out, then I basically gave away my whole family's deepest, darkest, sure-to-get-us-all-locked-up-in-Arkham-Asylum secret.

"I'm going to get grounded for sure." I groaned into my hands, "Probably for the rest of my _lifetime_." I paused, then added to the gloomy sky, "If Bruce is feeling merciful enough." But then again, Eddie was my best friend. He wouldn't babble it to the whole world like an idiot. He would confront me about it first. Which was still bad, but at least I would be able to handle it.

I watched from my spot in the fire escape as two police cars pulled over to check out my work. Eddie and Nate had left about a minute after I'd taken off, but I'd waited just to make sure they'd left safely.

Okay fine. Truth was I didn't want to go back home. At least not while that stupid gala was still going on. No way was I getting back in those heels.

Plus, I was pretty sure that my absence had been noticed quite some time ago. Alfred gave me his word that he wouldn't rat me out to Bruce or any of them, but it didn't ease my paranoia. The world's greatest detective was my grandpa for crying out loud. I was expecting him to pop out of nowhere and scare the pants off me like he did pretty much all the time. It was nerve-wracking.

I pressed my fingers to my cowl and watched Batman's files pull up in my lenses. Straight from the Bat Computer. Let me tell you, connecting this to the program from the Bat Computer was _not_ easy. Sure I've hacked into tech before, but the Bat Computer was something else entirely. Dick's lessons had never gotten to the point of hardcore technology. Yet. Lucky for me, Alfred had caught me red-handed and just gave me the password. He really was too awesome.

I sifted through some of it before coming to the file I'd found before spotting Eddie and Nate in their little sticky situation. It was something about the Riddler doing his whole Riddler thing and making the cops figure out his next move. According to Batman, he was going to take the new Van Gogh paintings that had recently been placed in the museum. Hey, I knew about Van Gogh! He was one of my favorite artists. How does a street rat like me know about Van Gogh you ask? It was just one of those trivial things I picked up along the way. Goya was one of my favorites, too. Anyway, I could probably catch Riddler in no time. He didn't seem too dangerous for Red Dawn to handle.

Grinning in determination, I flipped myself up the rusted railings and made a move for the museum.

0o0o0o0o

"What do you mean she _disappeared_?" Jason demanded, "I thought you guys were gonna watch her!"

"We were." Dick explained, "But, we had to leave to intervene in a weapon shipment. Two were taking place at one time in distinct locations, which is obviously – "

"I don't care." Jason interrupted with a roll of his eyes, "If Alex isn't at the Manor, then shouldn't she be with the Santos kid and Nate?"

"They left the gala about half an hour ago, according to Damian. She wasn't with them."

"Huh. I don't know if I should be glad or upset to hear that." Jason muttered under his breath as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Spoken like a true parent." Roy piped up with a grin. "Wouldn't want your teenage daughter hanging around at night with a pair of sixteen-year-old boys, eh?"

"Shut up, Harper. This is serious."

Tim gazed down at the ground thoughtfully before looking up with raised brows, "I'm willing to bet Alfred knows something."

All four of them shared a look. Jason looked to Tim and Dick with a frown, "Did Damian say anything about whether Alfred saw her leave?"

"I don't think he asked." Dick admitted.

Jason snorted, "Well that was dumb. Alfred always knows everything."

Batman suddenly radioed in on them, "She's going to stop Riddler at the Museum."

"And _why_ am I not surprised?" Jason gestured in exasperation.

Dick raised his eyebrows, "Alex donned a costume?"

"An interesting one, and well equipped. With Alfred's help, I'm sure. Robin and I are already on our way there."

"Don't bother." Jason said, appearing slightly annoyed. "Alex is my daughter, I'll handle it."

Batman's tone was firm on the line. "I need to make sure she's doing the job _right_. She's using the 'family logo.' We can't afford to have her – "

"Acting like I _did_?" Jason grounded out, "Past tense, Bruce. Past. Tense."

There was an awkward silence after that, and Roy leaned over and whispered to Dick, "You can just _hear_ the Bat-glare." Roy then quirked a brow, "I thought they worked it out?" He muttered to Dick and Tim, referring to Jason and Bruce.

"It's never really permanent." Tim replied a bit solemnly.

"Uh, Bruce?" Dick intervened in the commlink, "We're _all_ going. We'll meet you there." The link ended, and Jason frowned at the ground one last time before heading off the docks and snorting. "He's totally going to ground her."

0o0o0o0o

The museum was quiet, and by the time I got there, the Bat Signal was already splayed across the gloomy gray clouds in the sky. That meant the oh so famous Batman and Robin were going to show up any minute, meaning I had to work _fast._

I jumped off the gargoyle I was perched on and began falling forward towards the glass windows of the museum. There was no time for picking fancy locks, I was going in with style! Laughing at the sheer adrenaline of it all, I somersaulted mid-air and lightly landed on the edge of a rooftop before rolling off the balls of my feet and continuing spinning downward. I held my arms in and put my feet forward and easily crashed through the glass.

I kicked a guy down, landed on his chest, immediately kicked off him and spun in a circle in the air, kicking two approaching Riddler goons away before leaping to the side safely and landing with a laugh. Man, this was a breeze.

Some goon cried out, "Batman?!" Pffft. Where did Riddler find these guys anyway?

I straightened up, "Yeah, you know, I just shrank a couple of feet. Grew my hair out. Glad you noticed." I stepped to the side, dodging a shouting, charging goon. I reached out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and flung him into the goon that for some strange reason had thought I was the goddamn Batman, knocking them both hard onto the ground.

"Who are you?" Riddler asked, taking a wary step back. I smiled, "I want to say: _your worst nightmare_, but I'm not. It's Batman. And, fortunately for you, I'm no Batman. But your genius co-worker over there knew that already, huh?"

His expression immediately turned annoyed, and he sharply pointed his question mark cane thing at me, "Get her!"

A goon stepped in front of Riddler and began shooting arrows from his crossbow at me. I flipped over them as I made my way to him, and grabbed the last arrow he'd shot up at me. Grinning, I let the arrow fall and snatched the crossbow out of his hands and kicked my foot against his chest, felling him to the floor.

"Hey, that's _Starry Night_!" I pointed at the painting that had been dropped to the floor, "And is that the _Night Café_ beneath it? Nice choice. Color is everything for Van Gogh. Speaking of colors, riddle me this:" I grinned tauntingly at him, "What's green and purple and _covered_ in red and gray?" Riddler scowled and turned to run towards the exit, and I sprinted right after him. One of the remaining goons ran at me and shot out his whip just as I leaped over him. It snared around my ankle, but I pulled out a batarang and sliced the cord before it could pull taught. I swiftly moved my legs forward and flattened Riddler face-first onto the floor. I snickered and ended my riddle, "You! When I land on your sorry butt!"

Laughter erupted from somewhere within the dark museum, and I looked up in surprise to see Red Hood and Arsenal stepping out from the shadows beneath the staircase. Arsenal was grinning in pure delight, and Red Hood was – well, he was wearing his Red Hood.

Just as I opened my mouth to give Jason a probably dumb and totally useless explanation in a futile attempt to save myself from an eternal grounding for breaking the 'no-crime-fighting-until-I-say-you're-ready' deal without a moment's hesitation, Batman appeared.

Woo-hoo.

I was already slouching sullenly by the time Robin, Nightwing, and Red Robin stepped out from their own hiding places.

I raised a brow at them, "Wow. So you guys were hiding in the shadows this whole time? I should've known."

"It's what we do," said Red Robin with a smile.

"What is this, some sort of family reunion?" Riddler demanded, but he'd stopped struggling the moment Batman had shown up.

"I'll handle it from here," said Batman, and I stepped off Riddler as Batman cuffed his wrists together.

"You're welcome," I hinted. He ignored me and swiftly proceeded with the unconscious goons. I sighed. So much for getting praised.

Robin walked up and eyed me distastefully, "You certainly know how to handle the situation gracefully, _Red Dawn_."

"You figured it out, huh?" I said, ignoring his sarcastic edge to his tone.

He smiled smugly, "Son. Of. Batman."

I gawked at him, "You mean the son of Satan is my _brother_? That's it." I raised my hands in the air, "Time out."

Robin rolled his eyes at me, "Your sense of humor is as good as your fighting, Red Dawn."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Robin."

"I'd prefer you take it as sarcasm."

Before I could come up with a sharp retort or just punch him in the face, Nightwing stepped in, putting some space between us. He shook his head with some amusement and exasperation. "It'll take a true miracle for you two to ever get along, won't it?"

Robin and I scoffed at the same time, "Not even that." We stopped, then narrowed our eyes at each other.

"Alex?" I tore away from Robin's and my glaring contest to look a bit nervously at Nightwing. He had that pensive look of his on his face, the one he'd usually give me whenever he was deciding if something I'd done was right or wrong. At the moment, even _I_ wasn't so sure. Frankly, I was still waiting for either Jason or Bruce to ground me. But neither one seemed to be paying much attention to me at the moment. In fact, it sort of looked like they were having a pretty heated discussion…

"You did good." I blinked in surprise as Nightwing's words abruptly jerked me out of my thoughts. He cracked a grin at me, "Just know that you have _my_ approval with all this. Okay, Red Dawn?"

"Are you serious?" I gaped, feeling some small shred of hope. I grinned, "Thanks, Nightwing. Really."

"Hey, doesn't my approval count, too?" Arsenal walked over to us and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, "Because, I have to admit, I'm proud that you still remember how to kick ass. This is just like the good old days! Except Claudia wouldn't let you do any serious crime fighting since, you know, you were pretty small." He ruffled my hair and his grin broadened, "I'm proud of you, _Red_ Dawn. Great name by the way. Really liking the connection."

I laughed as I wrestled my way out of his hold and playfully punched his shoulder. "I'm glad to hear that."

"I have a feeling _my_ opinion doesn't really matter to you," Red Robin began, also joining our little group.

I gave him a mocking glance, "No, not really."

He smiled before continuing, "Right. But, from what I saw just a few moments ago…you _did_ do good. Better than I expected, actually, since I expected…something else. So, nice job, Red Dawn."

Wow. Three praises so far! I was definitely starting to feel better than I had two minutes ago. I smiled warmly, "Gracias, hermano."

"Did you just _thank_ me? And called me your _brother_? All in one sentence? That's it." He raised his hands mockingly, "Time out."

"Don't get used to it," I punched his arm, "_Drake_." I smirked and he chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Don't you _dare_ do it." Red Hood suddenly snapped, and we all turned around in surprise to look at him.

Batman's face was expressionless as he stared back at Red Hood, whose gloved hands were clenched into tight fists down at his sides. Something twisted in my stomach uneasily. I knew they were talking about me. More specifically, Red Dawn. Gulp. I was really in for it now.

Nightwing swiftly approached Batman and Red Hood and frowned at them, "What's going on?"

"Go ahead. Tell him." Red Hood challenged Batman, "Nightwing always knows what's right and wrong, don't you, Golden Boy?" Red Hood immediately looked to Nightwing, "Be the judge here and tell _him_ what he wants to do is sick and _wrong_." I couldn't help but cringe at the harshness of his tone. Something warned me that this was going to get really, really ugly.

Batman ignored Red Hood and Nightwing and instead turned to look directly at me. I refused to let it unnerve me and instead glared right back, sending my own unspoken challenge at him. I could take it, whatever it was.

Batman pulled Riddler out from the heap of still unconscious goons and silently led him over to me. Although I didn't let it show, I was definitely confused. Uhhhhh…What exactly was it that he was going to do - ?

Batman's voice was so low I practically had to strain to hear the next words that he uttered. "What would you do if I told you that this man is partly responsible for the crash that took your mother away from you?"

There was a dead silence.

And then one of the millions of lost fragments of my memory slammed into me like I'd been flattened by a speeding truck.

"_Mom, where are we going?"_

"_To the hospital." She looked really worried. I never liked seeing her worried, or scared. It terrified me, because my mom was always strong._

"_Why?" My voice shook a little. I tried to be strong. Strong like my mom._

"_Do you remember my friend? Seth Levitt?" I nodded. "He had an accident. He's alive but, he's my best friend and I need to make sure he's okay." I nodded again. "He's going to be okay, mom." I reassured her, trying to make her worry less. _

_Her soothing brown eyes looked at my own dark green ones in the rearview mirror. She smiled, that warm, tender smile that would always turn into a grin for me. I smiled back at her._

"_What would I do without you, Alex?"_

_She would still be strong._

_Her smile suddenly dropped and she frowned at the mirror. "We're being followed."_

_Fear shot through me. I suddenly wanted dad with us, or uncle Roy or uncle Dick. "Mom? What time is dad com-"_

The memory abruptly broke off and the rest of it was randomly scattered images of the crash that played like a freaking movie in my eyes, with the IMAX experience and everything. Could the others even _see_ it?!

"Alex," Jason's grip on my shoulders was firm, "Alex look at me."

I did, and the flashing images in my mind came to an immediate halt. I blinked again, and was dumbstruck when I realized I was _crying_.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" Jason snarled, whirling around furiously at Bruce. "You – "

"What do you expect me to do?" I interrupted, staring at Batman and swiping away the tears that had slipped past my cowl. It didn't even take me a second to realize what he was really doing. And it seriously pissed me off. I snatched one of Jason's guns from his belt and clicked it, aiming the barrel directly at the Riddler, who was still out cold.

"Alex!" Nightwing's eyes widened in shock and alarm. Batman's eyes narrowed into slits. I sensed everyone else's silent surprise from behind me.

"This is what you were expecting from me, right?" I demanded, marching right up to the guy who was clearly an entirely different side of human being Bruce Wayne. "You thought I was going to snap and have a violent outburst or go on some killing rampage or something!" I tossed the gun at him, and he caught it numbly in his hands. "Well it looks like I passed your stupid test. I'm not a threat to your precious reputation, nor anyone else's. Basically, I'm not the kind of person Jason _used_ to be. Because that's what you're afraid of, right?"

No one said anything, and I continued on a furious roll, "I caught the Riddler and, in case you're still doubting me, he's not dead, he's just conked out! So go ahead and tell Commissioner Gordon that the Bat Family has a new, not revenge-filled member who's going to make the hellhole Gotham City more tolerable for others to live in, and her name is now and always will be _Red_ Dawn." I roughly shoved past him and stomped towards the exit. Clenching my fists, I spun around again and let my tone drip heavy with sarcasm, "And by the way, thanks for telling me about Riddler. You laid it on me real nice and easy. I can't wait for you to tell me who the real mastermind behind my mother's murder was, _Batman_." I turned back around and made the show of slamming the heavy door behind me with full force.

0o0o0o0o

_Troubled Youths' Home. 11:53 PM_

"Good thing those guys didn't take my chocolate." Eddie said, taking the wrapper off. "Being worthy enough to be served at Bruce Wayne's gala must mean it's amazing." He took a bite and grinned, "Holy crap, it is!"

Nate was lying in his bed, arms behind his head as he gazed up at the ceiling.

"You're quieter than usual." Eddie observed, munching on his chocolate. "What's on your mind, hermano?"

"Who do you think that girl was?" asked Nate after a curious pause. Eddie froze and started choking on his chocolate bar. Nate paid no attention to him, "I mean, it's obvious that she's running with the Bat Family, but I've never seen her before now."

Eddie coughed one last time before swallowing painfully. He put the chocolate aside and rubbed the back of his neck, "Beats me. New member, I guess."

Nate propped himself on his elbow and looked to Eddie sitting across the room in his own bed. "You're not even a little curious? _That's_ unusual for you."

Eddie shrugged, "She saved our butts. She's a heroine. That's good enough for me."

"Well, yeah, I guess you're right." Nate settled back down, "It's just, now that I look back on it, there's something about her that seems kind of familiar." He stopped and glanced at Eddie, "Do you sense that, too? Or is it just me being weird?"

"You're crushing on her, aren't you, lover boy?" Eddie taunted with a sly grin on his face.

"What?" Nate looked surprised, then embarrassed. His eyes darted around nervously, "I'm not crushing on anyone!"

The doorbell rang, and Nate and Eddie shared a surprised look.

"Isn't Madeline visiting little Dylan and Cole at the hospital?" Eddie asked.

Nate nodded. "Should we go answer it? Maybe Madeline forgot the keys."

Eddie hopped out of bed, and Nate got up to follow. Nate leaped down two steps at a time and Eddie just slid down the banister with an easy grin. He jumped off at the end and jogged to the door as the doorbell rang more frantically and the person started pounding on the door.

"All right all right, calm – " Eddie swung the door open, and froze in surprise to see Alex standing on the porch in jeans and her trademark red hoodie drooping over her head. "Alex?"

She blinked at him in equal shock, "Eddie?"

"What are you doing here?" They both said simultaneously.

"Dick transferred me here the same day you got adopted." Eddie explained. He looked at her closely and his expression gentled, "Hey. Are you okay?"

"Alex?" Nate turned equally concerned as Eddie at seeing her. "What's wrong?"

Alex let out a heavy sigh and glanced back at the street behind her before looking to the guys again. She looked tired. Eddie immediately knew she'd been crying.

"Family problems. Will it be okay with Madeline if I spend the night here? Or forever? I'm cool with either one." She joked weakly.

"She's not here." Nate said, "But I know she wouldn't mind letting you stay. Your old room is still empty, if you want to sleep there."

"I'll be fine on the den's floor. Much more comfortable." She smiled, but Eddie just knew she wasn't feeling fine at all.

He sighed and pulled her inside and into his arms, "Come here, you. You need a group hug." Eddie smiled and nodded for Nate to join them. Nate did, and the three of them stood there for a little while.

"Nate?" Alex asked as she finally pulled away. Her eyes were still a bit red and puffy. "I know this is a random question, but…does your last name happen to be Levitt?"

Nate looked slightly taken aback, but he nodded, "Yeah. My parents were Seth and Clara Levitt." His brows pulled together questioningly, "Why do you ask?"

"I need to tell you guys something."

**DUM DUMM DUMMM! What's Alex gonna tell them? Is it really just SOMEthing? OR EVERYTHING?! I honestly don't know yet haha. Oh, and for me, Batman not trusting Alex as Red Dawn or a heroine seemed kinda harsh, but I'll probably go into depth to that reasoning in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! =D**


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter was totally motivated and inspired by an insanely awesome and epic large chocolate chip frappuccino that I had like at 10 o' clock last night. **

**After that I had French fries :D**

**So...I hope you guys like it!**

_Wayne Manor. 6:50 AM_

The Batmobile soundlessly drove into the Cave, where Alfred stood waiting with a number of steaming mugs on a silver platter.

The top lifted, and Robin was the first to hop out.

"Good morning, Master Damian." Alfred greeted, offering the tray to the young vigilante.

Robin walked right by him, "No thank you, Pennyworth." The sound of his trudging boots echoed loudly in the deafening silence as he disappeared up the staircase.

Alfred raised a curious brow as he walked over to Bruce, who remained silent and still as a statue. "Might I ask where the others are?"

"You helped Alex."

Alfred didn't look the least bit surprised at the statement. "Yes well, I saw no reason why not to."

When Bruce didn't say anything, Alfred gave an all-too-knowing sigh and set the tray aside. "What is it that you've done this time, Master Bruce?"

"I lost all respect Alejandra had for me. If she ever _had_ any, to begin with." Bruce removed his cowl and rubbed a hand over his tired face as he sat in front of the Computer. "I messed up, Alfred."

"I'm sure you had your reasons, sir. But, surely it couldn't have been that bad?"

Bruce stared up at the glowing screen as several files of Alex began to pop up. Jason's files were pulled up right besides hers. "I told Alex that the Riddler was partly responsible for ruining her life." Alfred's eyes widened slightly.

After a careful pause, he finally asked quietly, "And…she knew it was a test?"

"Figured it out right away." Bruce confirmed grimly. "She shoved it right in my face. She _nailed_ me, Alfred. Alex knew what I was doing, and why. And she's never going to forgive me for that."

Alfred looked up at both Alex and Jason's juvenile records on the screen with a thoughtful expression. "You know, Master Bruce, on that first night you encountered Miss Alex, you told me that something about her _screams_ Jason." Bruce listened to him intently. "And I certainly agree with you there. But you must see that, although she _is_ his daughter, Miss Alex is _not_ Master Jason."

When Bruce said nothing, Alfred continued seriously. "And if that _were_ the case, then I would have done everything in my power to prevent Red Dawn from being brought into existence. But I helped her. I helped her for the same reason I help _you_ and everyone else who has ever been a part of this family: you give people _hope_." Bruce lifted his head to look at Alfred with a slightly surprised expression.

"And absolute and utter terror, of course. But, that's only for the cowardly criminals." Alfred mused.

Bruce looked down at his open palms guiltily, "I didn't have that faith in her, Alfred. I didn't even give her a _chance_ as Red Dawn." He closed his eyes and frowned, "She accused me of being afraid that she would turn into what Jason once was."

"And she's quite correct." Alfred said in agreement, "After all this time, you still haven't let go of your guilt for everything that's happened to Master Jason. You fear Miss Alex shares the same fate. Perhaps she does," Bruce grimaced. "Or perhaps she doesn't. Either way, Master Bruce, you cannot determine her destiny. Not you, and not Master Jason. It's all up to _her_. And she chose _this_ life. _All_ of you must accept that. Otherwise…she'll be forced to bear through it alone." Alfred picked his tray back up and began to walk away. "And not even _Batman_ has ever been able to accomplish _that_."

0o0o0o0o

_Troubled Youths' Home. 7:10 AM_

I was sitting alone at the head of the large kitchen table. Everyone was still asleep, and the only reason I was already up was because my brain kept replaying _the_ memory over and over and over in my sleep, and it was too damn frustrating. I _knew_ there was more to it, but instead of continuing, the scene would just go right back to the beginning.

Ugh, it was giving me a headache.

"Are you hungry?" Nate appeared and sat down in the chair beside me, his face still a little sleepy. "I can make breakfast, if you want."

"That sounds _awesome_, but…no thanks."

Nate leaned forward with his elbows on the table. "You're still upset about yesterday, huh?"

Okay calm down people, I didn't tell him or Eddie any ultra major secrets last night. All I said was Bruce had a detective friend figure out the car accident that killed my mother had been no simple accident, and that Bruce laid the news on me so suddenly that I got pissed off at him for it. It wasn't _that_ far from the truth.

What I _did_ tell the guys was that the memory of the crash had come back to me and aggravated me even more, which was how I'd ended up here. Eddie and Nate already knew that I had trouble remembering certain things from my life before the crash (Eddie had told Nate a while ago), so they understood why I was pretty much freaking out about it all.

But everything else – Jason being my real dad; Jason wiping my childhood memories clean of himself and Roy and Dick and everything having to do with the vigilante life to keep me safe (boy did that turn out well); me being the very Red Dawn who saved their butts yesterday (they'd told me about that, and I had the vaguest feeling Eddie knew me and Red Dawn were one and the same but that issue was for another day because I couldn't freaking handle any more crap) – was still unknown to them. For now, anyway.

I shrugged, "Yeah, I'm still angry. But believe it or not, I'm not a very good grudge-holder. I'll probably be over it by the end of the day or something."

"At least he found out the truth for you." Nate offered. "That ought to count for something."

Yeah. Just because he was _testing_ me to see if I was some kind of _killer_. Okay, maybe my lame grudge-holding could make the exception with Bruce and I'll just stay pissed off at him forever. He sure made it _easy_ enough.

When Nate saw I wasn't going to open up to this conversation like I had last night, he changed the subject. "Soo, who would have guessed that Claudia and Seth used to be such good friends?" He let out a little laugh.

Oh yeah. I'd also told Nate that my mom and his dad used to be best friends. Eddie just couldn't get over the irony. "And you used to be so rude to him!" He'd laughed.

"I definitely wouldn't have." I smiled, "Small world, huh?"

"Very." He agreed, "But it's a nice surprise." Nate paused, rubbing the back of his neck before asking bit sheepishly, "So…does that mean we can be friends?"

I grinned widely, "Considering that you offered to make me breakfast," I held my hand out to him, "Welcome aboard, hermano!"

Nate chuckled as he took my hand, "That was easier than I thought it would be."

I raised my brows at him, "Are you kidding me? I thought you knew."

"Knew what?"

"That in a way…you've _always_ been my friend, Nate. And I'm not just saying that because of the breakfast offer." I joked. His amused expression turned slightly surprised as I continued. "_You_ were the first one there for me when I lost everything. I didn't even know you, yet you sat with me on that bench anyway. And even though you didn't actually say anything…it still meant a lot." I shrugged, "I never saw it before, but I do now." I gave him a small smile, "So thanks, Nate."

It took a few seconds for me to realize he was still holding my hand, except his handshake grip had softened into simple hand-holding. And – get this – the weirdest part of it all was that it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable like it probably should have been. It was just…nice.

Okay I was totally thinking crazy. Too tired.

"Hey, guys."

Nate practically fell out of his seat as Eddie walked in and plopped into the chair beside him with a yawn.

I grinned tauntingly at Eddie while Nate sheepishly composed himself. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty!"

"You noticed my lovely bed hair, didn't you?" Eddie smirked as he leaned back comfortably and ran a hand through his soft-looking-but-still-totally-scruffy bed hair, "You know, I'm really in the mood for some French fries. Can we go to McDonald's?"

"I don't think they serve French fries this early," Nate said. He smiled and then suggested, "But we can have breakfast there, if you guys want."

"Nah," Eddie and I said at the same time. We both bolted upright and pointed at each other, "JINX! No! I jinxed you first! No!_ I_ did!" Then we grinned at each other and erupted into laughter.

"Right," Nate said in amusement as our loud laughing gradually lowered down to chuckles. "I think you guys might still be lacking sleep." A mischievous grin stretched across his face, "How about if we go to Starbucks instead and, you know, get a little crazy with their Coffee Frappuccino?"

"Wow, Nate, what's got you acting all fun-and-nonsense today?" Eddie joked.

I smiled at Nate's eager expression. "It probably has to do with the fact that he's now officially part of the _BFF_ club."

"Oh really? Well as a matter of fact, Alex," Eddie said in a mock-professional lawyer voice, "Nate was announced a member of the _BFF_ club since the day I met him. We just never told you about it because I knew our bromance would be outlawed by your jealousy." Eddie smirked and Nate laughed.

I pursed my lips to hold back my own grin, "I'll just ignore the bromance and jealousy part and continue with this very serious session. Ahem. Oh _really_? Well as a matter of fact, Eddie, as of _today_ I confirm Nate's membership into the BFF club _official_." I hit my fist on the tabletop. "Court has now ended! Bring out the dancing lobsters!"

Eddie grinned at Nate and thumbed to me, "You'll get a kick out of being best friends with her. She nags and nags at you and can be bossy and butt into your business and gets upset about having to rescue you every time you're in peril and complains about how you put yourself in said peril in the first place and – " Eddie immediately stopped counting off his fingers at my glare, and laughed before ending sincerely, "And that's how you know she really cares. Because, deep down, you know she's doing it to keep you alive." His dark brown eyes flickered back to me as he smiled, and I knew he seriously meant it.

And okay what was up with all these _moments_?! Yeesh.

I ripped my eyes away from Eddie's, feeling my face heat up in embarrassment. "Yeah, that's my job description. Keeping your ass alive. For _free_." Ha! The irony of that statement!

I got up and pulled out the credit card from the back pocket of my jeans, "So do you guys want the Coffee Frappuccino or not? Because I'm totally fine with having both of yours for you."

Eddie let out a low whistle as he got up. "Nice credit card. The perks of being a billionaire's ward, huh? Hey, you should make that a book! And just for future reference, I demand forty percent of your profits."

I barked a laugh, "For what?"

"For giving you a title! I deserve the credit!" He grinned.

"Uh, guys?"

Eddie and I had just stepped outside the front door and turned around to look at Nate in confusion.

"We're still in our pajamas, remember?" He gestured to his whole self with wide arms.

I was still wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday, but I really didn't care. It's kind of what I've been doing my whole life on the streets, so yeah.

Eddie didn't seem to care either. He waved a hand dismissively, "Oh come on, Nate. Our so-called pajamas are just gray sweats and a plain t-shirt! No one will know the difference!"

"You're not wearing shoes."

"Now _that_ is a good point."

After Eddie and Nate each threw on a pair of sneakers, we walked to Starbucks. It was still kind of early, so not a lot of people had the fortune of seeing Eddie and Nate in their PJ's.

But it was a Monday, so two teenage girls in uniform were on their way to school when they passed by us on the sidewalk. And let me tell you, even _I've_ never drooled that much in my _sleep_. It was just like the Laundromat girl with Eddie, except _double_ the fluttering eyelashes and annoying giggles and dripping sweetness of their voices.

And the most torturous part of it all? Eddie _and_ Nate totally went with it.

Nate just gave them that naturally nice smile of his (which still made them giggle), but Eddie used that certain crooked grin Dick totally taught him and gave them a quick wink, "Good morning, ladies."

They laughed and blushed and waved at him and Nate, "Hi!" And as they walked away, they started whispering – if that's what you would even _call_ it – about how "ohmigosh the dark-haired one was _so_ hot!" and how "the blond-haired guy had the most beautiful eyes any guy has ever looked at me with!" and how "ohemgee did you see how their t-shirts showed how finely toned they both are?!" followed by intense giggling and squealing.

"Oh give me a break." I snorted, rolling my eyes.

"Aww, don't get jealous, Alex. You'll always be our BFF!" Eddie mockingly reassured me as he grinned widely. Nate was clearly suppressing his own laughter and barely succeeding.

I scowled, "Yeah yeah whatever. You two just work your mojo and make the cashier at Starbucks give us a full discount or something."

"But, you're rich." Nate reminded me with a smile. Eddie began choking on his laughter.

I mentally face-palmed myself. I can't believe I actually forgot that. "Well…it takes some getting used to okay?" I snapped and trudged into the mostly empty Starbucks.

Nate sat down to save us a small table by the glass window, but Eddie accompanied me to the cash register.

I ordered our stuff and began giving the lady our names, "Nate, Eddie, and – "

"And write _Red Dawn_ on hers, please." Eddie interrupted with a glint of triumph in his smile.

It was obviously normal for people to give random names for their orders, so the lady had absolutely no idea whatsoever that she was really scribbling my alter ego onto the cup. My suspicions about Eddie knowing I was Red Dawn were now very clearly confirmed.

And he very clearly wanted me to punch him all the way into next Tuesday.

Throwing Eddie a quick, silent, we'll-talk-about-this-later Bat-glare, I turned and left him to sit with Nate.

"You look stressed out again." Nate observed in some concern.

"Yeah, that seems to be my life lately." I sighed, rubbing my eyes.

Nate's order was called out first, and he went over to get it before sitting back down with his large frappuccino and a huge smile on his face. "By the way, thanks for paying, Alex."

"No problem. What are BFF's for?" I replied teasingly.

Then my and Eddie's orders were called up next.

"_Red Dawn and Nightfall!_"

Nate almost choked on his drink, and I froze in my seat.

No. _Way_.

Eddie walked over to us with the frappuccinos and sat down with a smile.

"Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Ten seconds of dead silence passed between us. Eddie remained unfazed.

"I know, I give awesome titles."


	14. Chapter 14

So…Starbucks sure cleared everything up. And I was probably the worst secret-keeper in the world. Okay not _probably_. I was _definitely _the worst secret-keeper in the world. In the _universe_. In _all_ the universes! If there were even that many, but whatever, I made my point.

Nate was pretty surprised. Eddie just couldn't stop grinning. And as for Eddie's little "Nightfall" title, well he said he was partly inspired by _Nightwing_, who he'd totally figured out was actually Dick. _Then_ he'd said with that annoyingly good-looking charming flashy smile of his, "Besides, what's dawn without night falls?"

I had a lot of trouble restraining myself from repeatedly banging my forehead on the table.

"You're _kidding_, right?"

He laughed.

"I'm serious, Santos." I practically growled, lifting a warning finger at him, "You better be joking."

"Relax, Alex," Eddie reassured me with a chuckle, "I'm just messing with you." He tapped a finger on his chin in mock thoughtfulness, "But _if_ I were to become a not-so-mysterious but still totally kick-ass vigilante overnight like you did, then I would call myself Nightfall. _If._ That's all I'm saying." He lifted his hands as if in surrender and smiled, "Honest."

I relaxed a little, but kept the scowl on my face. "Good."

"Sure thing, Red Dawn."

I whacked his shoulder as he laughed. "And that's another thing! _Both_ of you have to _swear_ you won't tell another soul about _any_thing you now know."

Nate set down his frappuccino and raised his right hand in the air with a smile, "Promise. My lips are sealed." He made the motion of sealing his mouth, locking it, and tossed the key at me.

I grinned at him as I faked catching it and shoved it into my pocket. "Thanks, Nate." I turned to Eddie again and raised my brows, "Your turn, _Nightfall_."

He raised his own brows at me, "Since when have I ever not kept a secret for you? I'm practically your diary!"

"Swear."

He grinned crookedly, "You mean like the F word?" Nate almost spit out his frap in laughter.

"Just promise!" I said, trying and failing miserably at forcing back my own grin.

Eddie chuckled, "Alex, I _promise_ your biggest secret yet is safe with me. And just to prove to you that I am dead serious about keeping it a secret," he held his pinkie up to me, "I pinkie promise."

Pinkie promises were the real deal.

Smiling, I hooked my pinkie around his, "Thank you."

"So you really don't want me to be the Nightfall to your Red Dawn?"

I face-palmed myself.

Ugh. Okay fine, I admit it. It would be the greatest, most _awesome_ and epic thing ever if Eddie got to fight crime with me as a vigilante. I mean come on, who _wouldn't_ want to kick ass alongside your best friend? I sure as hell wanted to!

But…that was also exactly why I didn't want him doing it.

"Eddie," I began calmly, "I've spent the past five years of my life trying to keep your butt alive on the constantly life-threatening streets of Gotham City. No _way_ am I letting you purposely throw yourself into an even _more_ life-threatening lifestyle after all my hard efforts of, and I repeat, _keeping your butt alive_."

"….so that's a no, then?"

"I think it would be cool," Nate offered.

"Nate! You're siding with _him_?"

"Bromance trumps Romance." Eddie grinned, and he and Nate draped their arms around each other's shoulders.

"What does _romance_ have to do with any of this?" I demanded. "That doesn't even make sense!"

"Yeah it does! Make love, not war, man," said Eddie. Nate nodded in mock seriousness.

"You're not going to be Nightfall." I said flatly.

Eddie grinned slyly and shrugged, "Okay."

"Pinkie promise."

"Sorry, Alex." Eddie's grin widened, "You know I never break pinkie promises. So…I _can't_ pinkie promise on this."

I glared at both of their smiling faces before finally smirking and sinking back into my chair. "Okay. Yeah. I'm cool with that."

Eddie immediately eyed me suspiciously, "What's with the smug grin?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Bull."

Grinning, I put my elbow on the table and held my hand out to him in a challenge, "If I win, you don't get to be Nightfall. If I lose, you can be whatever the heck you want. Deal?"

"Really? Okay." He smirked and gripped my hand in his.

Nate darted to sit in the middle, "Okay you two, I want a good clean match. On my mark…go!"

I slammed Eddie's hand into the table and almost fell back laughing as he choked out a swear word and rubbed his sore hand.

"What the fudge, Alex! Are you on steroids or something?!"

"Hey, you _know_ the people I live with!" I snickered. For the past few days, Jason and Roy have been arm wrestling me, usually for the TV remote. In case it wasn't obvious, I lost a lot. But with a few pointers from Jason and some heavy weight lifting, I was slowly getting better.

They're going to be so proud!

Which reminded me…

"I have to get back to the manor." I said, jumping to my feet, "Eddie, you lose!" I called behind me as I rushed to get out of Starbucks.

As the door swung closed behind me, I heard Eddie's final shout.

"There's always Halloween, y'know!"

0o0o0o0o

I slowly opened the large double doors and peeked inside, making sure the coast was clear before tiptoeing inside and silently closing the doors behind me. I turned around again and screeched to a stop.

"Holy – how the hell do you guys always _do_ that?" I exclaimed, throwing my arms up.

"Red Dawn seems to do an okay job of it," Jason said, smirking slightly. He was blocking my way with his arms folded across his chest.

"Yeah well, Red Dawn doesn't seem to be appreciated by the big mean Bat-Jerk, does she?"

"I guess it runs in the family."

We both grinned at each other.

Jason put a hand on my shoulder, "And, concerning that matter, we're gonna have a talk."

"You don't mean all that family therapy crap, do you?" I groaned as he began leading me through the manor.

"Believe me, nobody finds it more annoying than I do. But Alfred's orders are Alfred's orders."

There was a sudden loud bark and, next thing you know, my all too favorite mutt rammed into me with full force, tackling me to the ground with his giant tail wagging.

"At least the dog likes me!" I shouted as I just lied there, letting Titus race in excited circles around me.

"Traitor." Damian said as Titus darted back to him. Titus grunted at him, and if the dog could talk, I was pretty sure he'd be lecturing the little bird brat.

I let Jason pull me to my feet and I fixed my sweater back into place. I looked up and raised a brow at seeing everyone seated comfortably in the chairs front of the empty fireplace.

"Barbara? They dragged you into this, too?" I snorted.

"Tell me about it. But it's always great seeing you, Alex." She greeted with a wry smile. On that first day when we grudgingly went shopping for the gala, Babs and I really kicked off to a great friendship. We both loved chilidogs! Jason did, too.

"Take a seat, Alex." Bruce said, gesturing to one of the comfy sofas.

"I'd rather stand, thanks." No way was I going to sit on the psycho chair while they worked their therapist mojo on me.

Jason folded his arms across his chest and stared at Bruce, "Okay. You can start apologizing."

An _apology_? Well hell, this just got interesting.

Bruce cast a slightly warning glance at Jason before focusing back on me. Bruce's eyes darkened, and I stared back.

"What I said the other night was wrong." He began, still giving me that unflinching stare of his. "I stepped way out of line, and I regret it."

"Yeah. You're not exactly easy on the whole bearing bad news thing." I muttered under my breath, knowing he'd hear me anyway.

"It wasn't my place to tell you about your mother's death. That was Jason's responsibility, and I knew he was going to tell you given the right moment. But instead I abused that knowledge to use against you, to test you."

"Because you don't trust me." I said smoothly.

"And that was my mistake. I judged you wrong, Alex. I saw you as Red Dawn and…" I thought I saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes, but it was only for a second. "And all I could see was Jason."

That…made sense.

"I'm not Jason." I stated obviously. "Sure it'd be the greatest thing in the world if I could be like him," I cracked a grin at Jason and he smirked back, but it faltered for a moment. I looked back at Bruce and everyone else, "But maybe it wouldn't seem so great to you guys." I shrugged, "Point is, I'm not one hundred percent Jason. Just like fifty percent."

"And that's supposed to make us feel better?" Damian scoffed. Tim sighed at him.

"Shut it, Wayne." I warned. "Anyway, I'm not looking for an approval. Not from you," I looked at Bruce, "Not from _any_one. I don't even need you to believe in me as Red Dawn." I snorted. "I do what I want, because _I_ know I'm doing it for the right reasons. I know you like to control things, Bruce, but you don't control _me_. And why am I even explaining any of this?" I demanded to myself. I looked at everyone in the room. "It's simple: Get on board. Or get out of my way."

"That's my girl," Jason muttered with a small, proud smirk.

"And that's why we're here, Alex." Roy said with a smile. "We decided we're on board. _All_ of us. Right, Batsy? And Bratsy?" Damian scowled at him.

"I _will_ kill you."

Roy's grin only broadened.

Okay. That dramatic speech suddenly seemed a bit too dramatic. I raised my brows, "Are you serious?"

Bruce just looked at me seriously.

"Right." I said. I looked at everyone else, "Uhh…thanks. I guess."

"One moment she's totally inspirational and the next she's as flat as a deflated balloon." Barbara observed in amusement.

"That comes from the fifty percent side of Jason." Dick said with a grin. I stuck my tongue out at him childishly.

"Since we're all done here, I'm going to the kitchen. I'm starving."

"Hold it. There's something else you need to know."

I stopped in my tracks and let out a heavy sigh as I lazily swirled around to look at Bruce, "What?"

Damian snickered and Tim smiled and Dick chuckled and Babs stifled a laugh and Roy seemed to brace himself for the apocalypse.

Jason looked at me wryly. "You're starting school tomorrow."

The silence was suspenseful as everyone waited for my reaction. Even I didn't know what was coming next.

Instead of exploding, I found myself frowning at them.

"As long as Alfred makes me his waffles for breakfast."

They all blinked in surprise.

"Seriously?" Dick asked, looking hopeful.

"Pffft. No." I turned around and left, laughing my head off all the way.


	15. Chapter 15

**I want to thank the two lovely guest reviews for the previous chapter. As always, they bring me motivation x] So here's the next chapter, and things are starting to look a little interesting again xD**

"Why the hell doesn't _he_ have to go to school?"

"Because_ I_ read _Clausewitz_ and _Jomini_ at the age of six while _you_ were still playing with _Barbie_ dolls."

"I never played with Barbie dolls." I replied darkly.

"Actually, when _you_ were six, Jason was teaching you how to load a pistol." Roy stated matter of factly, his mouth stuffed with chocolate chip pancakes. "And I tried teaching you how to notch an arrow…but that didn't really turn out so well." He shoved another forkful of pancake into his mouth and poured more oozing syrup over his breakfast.

I looked back to Damian smugly, "Ha!" I paused as I let that sink in, then glanced at Jason across the table. "You let me handle a loaded gun?"

His mouth was also full with his own pancakes, "What kind of a dad would I be if I did _that_?"

I lifted an eyebrow.

He swallowed and rolled his eyes, "I let you load it _one_ time. Other than that I just gave you demonstrations."

Hmm, well that definitely explained how I knew how to load a pistol like it was a reflex.

"Mom didn't know, did she?" I smirked.

"Would we still be alive to tell the tale if she did?" Roy replied jokingly.

"Loading a pistol -tt- I'm _so_ jealous." Damian said sarcastically.

I reached out and stabbed my fork onto his stack of pancakes, stealing two.

"Give those back, Todd!" He reached out with his fork to snatch his pancakes, but I lifted my plate out of his reach.

"Hey, I need it more than you do. All _you're_ gonna do today is fight for justice and throw scumbags in jail. I'm starting _high school_." Still keeping the plate up and out of his reach, I lifted my leg out to the side to keep him at a safe distance and quickly started shoving the pancakes into my mouth.

Dick then walked in and saw Damian straining to reach my lifted arm for the plate and me barely balancing on one leg of the tilted chair, which was about ready to fall over with me and my leaning tower of pancakes and waffles. "Guys, come on." He pleaded in exasperation. He looked at Jason with disapproval, "You're letting this happen?!"

"What?" Jason said with his mouth full. He pointed at me with his fork, "She's handling it."

Damian suddenly struck a rapid punch to my shoulder, and the plate fell from my hand to spill on the table.

"You call that handling it?"

"Shut up, Grayson."

"Did you just lock my muscles?!"

"You might just be the world's next greatest detective, Todd."

With my hands now free, and my right arm feeling a lot like jelly, I shoved Damian's chair onto the floor. But he'd totally seen my move and hopped out of it before it even hit the floor.

But, before the real battle could begin, Jason and Dick intervened. Dick picked Damian up by the back of his shirt and Jason grabbed my limp right arm, shaking it loosely and grinning. "Maybe you don't have to go to school after all."

"Great. I can't wait to write the excuse note. Punched by ten-year-old annoying brat stepbrother because she stole his freaking pancakes." I waved my noodle arm with my other hand, "Oh that's right, I _can't_ write the excuse note."

"It'll wear off in a while." Dick sighed, casting a quick frown at Damian, who only looked smug. "But you're still going to school."

"Sure. Send me off to my doom with a noodle for a right arm." I stared at them, "You guys _do_ remember that I haven't been to an actual school since the _third_ grade, right?" Clearly, I was lacking in five years of book knowledge. And Bruce had apparently enrolled me in Gotham Academy. Which is _only_ the most prestigious school with the highest scores and highest education and probably the highest buildings, too. And I'm not even gonna mention the uniforms.

Ugh. The uniforms.

"Yeah. You've told us about ninety two times now." Roy joked before chugging down his glass of chocolate milk.

Jason mimicked his teasing, "Ninety two? Huh. I thought it was already in the low hundreds."

"Eh, it probably will be by the time she walks out the door."

"Miss Alex, what on earth are you still doing in your pajamas!" Alfred hurried towards us at the breakfast table, "If you don't ready yourself now, you're sure to be late."

Yeah. My pajamas were pretty much a pair of soccer shorts and a plain t-shirt. Way better than the uniform I was supposed to put on.

I huffed, "Time to go and make myself look like an idiot."

"At least _that's_ never been a challenge for you." Damian snickered.

After a long stare, I slowly lifted a finger to point an inch from his face. "I know where you live."

Tim swiftly slid down the banister and went to stand beside Alfred. He was already dressed in his sharp uniform and had his book bag strung over his shoulder. He looked at me a bit impatiently, "Alex, I know you're probably imagining every which way to get vengeance for this or something, but we've really gotta go." He thumbed behind him towards the entrance.

"Yeah yeah, I'm going." I walked past Damian, lightly smacking the back of his head and instinctively ducking just as I felt his arm swing over my head. I turned around and walked backwards while giving him a wide grin, "Ha! You missed."

"Enjoy Algebra 2, Todd."

"You're one mean little kid, you know that?"

"That's just his charm." Jason smirked as he turned me around and directed me towards the stairs.

"Don't freak out, Alex!" Roy shouted encouragingly from below, "You're a survivor! And if you flunk, well who the heck needs math anyway!"

In exactly four minutes, I was already throwing my backpack into the backseat of the limo and hopping in beside Tim.

'That was fast." Tim observed in some surprise.

"Well what was I gonna do? Spend an hour in the mirror obsessing over my looks?" I snorted, "I don't think so." I really didn't give a crap that my ponytail was sloppy and that one of my sleeves was folded shorter than the other and that a piece of my white-collar shirt was sticking out from the bottom of my sweater vest. What I _did_ give a crap about was the damn _skirt_.

As Alfred started driving onto the road, I tried to tug the blue fabric as far down as it could go, which wasn't even an inch. "Okay who was the perv that made this a school requirement?"

Tim chuckled. "Do you have your schedule with you?"

"Yeah, it's in here somewhere." I dug my hand around the bottom of my backpack, pulling out the crumpled piece of paper and tossing it to him. "Here."

He caught it and blinked at the crumpled ball and shook his head in amusement, "I really hope you survive this, Alex."

"Gee thanks for the support. Everyone's always just so chock full of it." The words came out harsher than it meant to, and I sighed, slumping back onto the seat.

"Sorry," Tim apologized. His expression turned sheepish, "I know it always seems like we're knocking you down – "

"That's an understatement."

"And it's wrong of us, I know," Tim continued sympathetically, "But I guess it's just, unintentionally, our first instinct. With you being Jason's kid – "

"Yeah I get it, trust issues." I grumbled. I didn't like that everyone still had trouble putting a little faith in Jason. It annoyed the hell out of me, and not because it made everyone prejudge me, it annoyed me because Jason was my dad, and no way was I gonna let everyone crap on him _all_ the time.

"And besides, didn't I just very recently establish the fact that I'm not Jason?" I demanded. "Does anyone even _listen_ to anything I say around here?!"

"Calm down and let me finish." Tim said. "What I'm trying to say is…you're intimidating."

"Really? Good." I smirked.

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah. But what it really means is we _know_ you're destined for something, Alex. And the reason we - especially Bruce - give you a rough time is because we don't know what that is yet. We're just trying to steer you in the right direction and keep you off the wrong track. And believe me, you don't make it easy." He said with a snort. "But that's probably just the fifty percent of Jason side you were talking about."

Hm, I guess I never really saw it that way. I mean, I was the scruffy street rat that no one ever tossed change at and picked other people's pockets. I couldn't exactly tell when someone was trying to do something right for me. I'd totally forgotten what it was like to have someone, or a lot of people in this case, look out for me. It was just kinda…strange.

"And, speaking for myself," Tim continued, pulling me out of my thoughts. "When I first heard that Bruce took you in, I honestly freaked out a little."

That made me grin, "Whaaaat? Seriously?" I snickered and elbowed his ribs, "Red Robin, leader of the mighty Teen Titans freaked out by the not so average teenage street girl. Nice."

He smiled, "Well, it was mostly your background. Your ties to Jason, how you pretty much died and then came back to life from the crash, and the mere fact that you lived on the streets of Gotham and actually survived all these years. It's just…my childhood's so _normal_. I mean, Batman and Nightwing, and I guess even Red Hood, had some rough stuff to deal with growing up, but…but you – you went through _all_ that, and you're still here. You even ended up turning yourself into one of us. That's…pretty intimidating."

Wow. Talk about being left speechless. And all this was coming from one of the guys who'd least trusted Jason most of his life. _That_ seemed pretty impressive to me.

I smiled and lightly bumped Tim's shoulder with my fist, "Well thanks, _hermano_."

"Anytime, _hermana_."

"Nice accent." I approved.

"Thanks. Multilingual."

"Everyone just loves bragging about their fluency in multiple languages, don't they?"

"You'll get there soon enough."

"As if."

The car parked to a stop and Alfred opened the door for us. Tim and I got out, and I tilted my head all the way back to look at the building that towered over us.

"Nice arches. The keystones are freaking perfectly aligned."

Tim looked at me with raised eyebrows, "You know architecture?"

"I can sound like a dork, too, you know." I smirked and shrugged, "When I was ten I walked into the public library and found this gigantic Art History textbook." I used my hands to demonstrate the approximate size. "It weighed more than I did, and that's _not_ an exaggeration. I was bored and curious and bored at the time so – "

Tim's eyes bugged out, "You read an entire Art History book when you were _ten_?!"

"Are you out of your mind, Drake? That thing is like a thousand pages long. I only read what I thought looked cool. Like van Gogh's paintings."

"Oh. Well then you should consider taking AP Art History. They have that here and it's actually a great – "

"And I repeat: are you out of your _mind_? Yeesh. I appreciate the general support, Tim, but now you're just talking mental." I took my schedule out from his hand and waved back at Alfred as I walked towards the building, "Bye, Alfred! Thanks for packing my lunch!"

He waved back in amusement, "I wish you the best of luck, Miss Alex!"

So I walked right into the hallways of hell and miraculously found the way to my first class. And just as I was about to walk towards the open door, I heard a familiar voice call out my name from behind.

"Alejandra, is that you?"

_Oh no. Oh crap. Oh holy crapness._

Forcing myself to look as relaxed as I possibly could, I slowly turned around and saw none other than Carina Sanchez. Eddie's ex girlfriend.

Where was the goddamn lightning bolt to strike down on you when you needed it?

She said goodbye to two of her friends she was talking to before jogging over to me with a genuinely friendly smile.

I already told you guys before Carina was a great person, nice and friendly and helpful and all that. She had morals and such. As far as I could tell, she wasn't a fake, either. She was just your normal teenager.

Maybe that was why I didn't like her? Possibly. But _no_, it was definitely _not_ because I was _jealous_! Because that would be _ridiculous_, because it wouldn't even make _sense_, because I totally did _not_ like Eddie _that_ way, because he was just my _friend_, because I _liked_ having him as my _friend_, and because _why_ would _anyone_ even _think_ that Eddie and I - oh jeez never _mind_.

Carina finally arrived to stand in front of me, and I forced a smile, "Carina! Fancy meeting you here."

"I could say the same," she replied with a grin, "I haven't seen you in while. How've you been?"

"Oh you know, I'm Bruce Wayne's new ward…and yeah." I replied lamely.

"So I've heard." She said teasingly, "That must be exciting, huh? You're lucky you get to go here. Gotham Academy is a great place. I'm sure you'll make some new friends around here."

"Yeah well, you know I'm not the social butterfly type." I half joked, looking around at the crowds of smart-looking teens. Even their clothes looked more sophisticated than mine. And I was wearing the exact same thing!

Carina chuckled, "You'll be fine, don't worry." She gestured to the door I'd been about to go into, "Is that where your first period is?"

"Biology, yeah." I grimaced, "I don't know squat about that stuff. I mean honestly, what's the point? When's _Biology_ going to help me in _any_thing?"

"Everyone's asking that, believe me." Carina smiled and began leading me there, "And since I'm a junior, I can help you out with anything you need. All you have to do is ask."

"I'll remember that, thanks." I replied halfheartedly, trying to make my grimace look more like a smile.

I barely took another step down the hall when Carina stopped me, "Um, Alex?"

Suppressing a heavy sigh, I turned to face her again, "Yeah?"

She bit her lip before continuing carefully, "About Eddie – "

Oh no, please not _this_ conversation.

"It doesn't matter." I interrupted, trying to reassure her, "You two were a couple, I get it. Eddie and I have always been just best friends. No big deal, it's not like this is some lame Spanish soap opera, right?" I grinned.

She laughed, "Oh my gosh, those are terrible. Yet most of the time I can't stop myself from watching one." She seemed to relax a little, "Sorry for asking about Eddie. I just wanted to make sure we could be friends." She smiled, "He talks about you a lot, you know."

I snorted and rolled my eyes at myself because why the _heck_ did that comment suddenly make my day? "Yeah, he tends to talk a lot."

"And it kind of made me realize that, even though I've known you for a while now, we've never really been friends."

Jeez, why did she have to be so _friendly_? It just made me feel worse about disliking her for no apparent reason. I sighed and offered her a smile, "Well since we're stuck in the same school, might as well, right?"

"Great." She smiled and stepped back with a wave, "It was nice meeting you again, Alex." Then she turned around and went to rejoin her group of friends.

"So that's Eddie's ex girlfriend?"

I nearly jumped out of my skirt, and turned my head to see Tim standing casually beside me. I scowled at him, "Do you _have_ to do that?!"

He ignored my question. "Didn't you say Eddie broke up with her about a year ago?"

"Yeah, what's your point?" I demanded.

He smirked, "Then why are you still jealous?"

"What the – I am _not_ _jealous_!" I was practically frothing at the mouth.

"Alex, I'm an investigator with a mind like a razor and an eagle eye for detail. You're jealous."

"And you're basically a stalker!" I retorted before marching off. I stopped, turned around again, and shouted at him from where I stood, "And by the way, I slipped your favorite chocolate chip cookies out from your backpack when you weren't looking, so take that Mr. Eagle Eye for Detail!" I pulled the Ziplock back out as proof and shoved a cookie into my mouth before storming away again.


End file.
